Daily NEWS Srilanka

The dead body of millionaire businessman who was abducted some days ago by an identified group of persons at Kotelawala Avenue, Bambalapitiya was found at a location close to the main road of Mawanella -- Hemmathagama in Rukulagama area

This dead body of this victim who is supposed to have been murdered some days back had been in a state with foul smell emanating from the body at the time the body was discovered and the neighbours had informed the police about the body. When an examination was conducted suspecting it was the body of a person who had died mysteriously; but in the process a suspicion had dawned whether the body was that of the millionaire businessman who disappeared from Bambalapitiya area in Colombo a few days before this. Thus when information was conveyed to the relevant party concerned, the father of the millionaire businessman and the relatives arrived on the scene and identified that the body belonged to this businessman. On examining the dead body the father of the deceased confirmed that it was his son, from the clothes he was wearing and jewellery on his body and also on inspecting his face and hair.

It has however not been still established whether this person was at this spot itself or whether he was murdered elsewhere and his body was dumped here after that. In fact it was last 21st around 11.30 in the night that this 29 year old businessman Sulaiman was kidnapped by an unidentified gang with the motive of demanding a sum of Rs. 2,00,00,000. Mr. Sulaiman, a father of two had been conducting a business of importing clothing from countries including Indonesia, India and China. Mr. Sulaiman who was residing in Bambalapitiya, Kotelawala Avenue had on the night of 21st enjoyed meals with a friend from a restaurant in Bambalapitiya and had subsequently bought meals for his wife too and returned home at approximately 11.30 in the night. Mr. Sulaiman had called his wife over the phone and asked her to open the door for him and when the wife had opened the door a motor vehicle had been driven at a rapid speed in front of the house. At that point Mr. Sulaiman's motor vehicle too had been parked there and the parcel of food that he had brought and his wrist watch had been found fallen on the ground. Some stains of blood too were observed by the police close to the place where he was abducted.

An anonymous caller who called his father on the phone at about 9 in the morning on the 22nd, the day after Mr. Sulaiman was abducted, had said that a sum of Rs. 2,00,00,000 has to be given as ransom money if the son was to be released. The police were able to find that the phone number from which the person who demanded the ransom had originated from a phone box in Kegalle area. After that phone call they had not called after that and suspicion has arisen that the ransom seekers had killed him during those days itself. The corpse was found from the very area that the phone call was given. Since there was no information about him even till last afternoon, Mr. Sulaiman's father had made a media announcement that he would give a reward of half a crore to any person who was able to provide information about his son who had disappeared. Whatever it is, since news about this was circulated across the media from the time of kidnapping, the ransom seekers had become frightened as a result and may have committed this murder, it was suspected.