Military intelligence members remanded over theft of magistrate’s purse

By Hemantha Randunu and Lal Gunasekera-December 3, 2012

Three suspects, including two members of the military intelligence, who allegedly stole the wallet of the Vavuniya Magistrate Alex Rajah, near the Fort Railway Station, were arrested by the police yesterday morning.

The Magistrate had arrived in Colombo by train at about 5. 30 a.m. to attend a Judges’ meeting Chaired by Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake later in the day

The wallet, which was inside a bag, had been stolen while the magistrate was getting into a bus after disembarking from the train in Colombo Fort, police spokesman SSP Prishantha Jayakody said.

The loss was discovered when the magistrate who had boarded a bus in front of the station to go to a friend’s place at Wellawatte attempted to pay the bus fare. He immediately phoned the police emergency and reported the loss.

A team from the Police Emergency that rushed to the scene checked two suspicious characters that were in the vicinity and were able to nab the culprits.

Out of the three suspects arrested two are members of the military intelligence while the third is a labourer. The police were also able to recover the foreign currency that was in the magistrate’s purse, The Island learns.

The suspects were remanded till Dec. 17 by the Fort Magistrate.