Four suspects have been arrested in connection with the alleged murder of a 24-year-old man who went missing from the Wellampitiya area in October last year, police said.
The Police Media Division said investigators found that the man had allegedly been killed at a vehicle repair workshop in Grandpass, and that his body was burned and the remains dumped in the Kelani River.
His disappearance was reported to Grandpass Police on 14 October 2025. Police said he had been drinking with several people at a vehicle repair workshop in Kambikotuwawatta on 11 October 2025, and that those who were with him fled the area after he went missing.
Officers of the Colombo District Crimes Division arrested two suspects in Mabola and Mahara on 30 October 2026. Information obtained during their questioning led to the arrest of two more suspects in Uswetakeiyawa. The four, aged 29, 32, 37 and 46, live in Wellampitiya and Agalawatta.
Police said questioning showed the man was killed at the workshop and his body was allegedly taken to Papiliyawala in the Kirindiwela Police Division and set on fire. The remains were allegedly thrown into the Kelani River from the Ranwala Bridge in the Kosgama Police Division.
Investigators recovered items suspected to be connected to the crime: a motorcycle ignition key, an amulet, bone fragments and a piece of burnt tent fabric. The findings were reported to the Pugoda Magistrate’s Court, and a crime scene examination was carried out in the presence of the Pugoda Magistrate and a Judicial Medical Officer.
On 1 November, a separate search operation took place in the Kelani River near the Ranwala Bridge with the help of Sri Lanka Navy divers, the Avissawella Magistrate and the Seethawaka Crime Scene Investigation Unit. The four suspects have been remanded until 2 November, and the Colombo District Crimes Division is continuing its investigations, police said.
Background
The Colombo District Crimes Division is the unit of Sri Lanka Police that investigates serious crimes in the Colombo district. In cases where human remains are found or crime scenes are examined, Sri Lankan law requires the findings to be reported to a magistrate, which is why the Pugoda and Avissawella Magistrates were involved here.
Remand means a suspect is held in custody by order of a magistrate while the investigation continues. It is not a finding of guilt, and the suspects have not been tried. The accounts of how the man died come from police and have not been tested in court.
What it means
For the man’s family, the arrests come a year after his disappearance was reported. The searches of the river and the examination of the scene suggest that investigators are still trying to recover physical evidence, and police have not said when the investigation will finish.
The case shows how a missing person report can lead to a murder inquiry. Families of missing people can report a disappearance to their local police station, as the family in this case did at Grandpass Police.
