Horror of FB on Valentine’s Day
KANTALAI: She was a young girl of 20 and hopelessly in love with a face book contact even though she had not met the man.
The FB romance lasted for six months before the pair decided to elope on Valentine’s Day, February 14.
The young girl from a village in Kantalai was instructed by her lover to arrive at a bus halt from where he would pick her up on his motorcycle.
And on time he arrived wearing a full face crash helmet and masked to the teeth and the two of them roared off to his home.
On arriving at his home the man pulled off his mask and took off the crash helmet and the girl was left trembling in shock and a horrible fear crept inside her.
For behind the mask stood a 52-year-old father of two who had successfully hoodwinked the girl saying that he was 24 years.
The photographs passed on to the girl on FB were that of a good looking youngster and the girl took the bait.
It was later learnt that the man had lost his wife and two children in a landslide several years earlier.
Subsequently, the police were alerted and the girl was rescued and returned to her home while the man was taken into custody.
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Woman in triple suicide bid jailed
DAMBULLA: A woman was thrown into jail after she allegedly attempted to murder her two toddlers with poison before consuming the same substance herself in a botched triple suicide attempt.
The incident took place at Kandalama in the Dambulla Police Division.
A troubled marriage and festering domestic chaos drove the woman to suicidal thoughts but this failed to convince the police and so she was produced before a local Magistrate and remanded.
Investigations revealed that her husband was a taxi driver stationed near the Dambulla Economic Centre (DEC) and he was subsequently questioned and released.
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Estate bosses assaulted, get dung water bath
MASKELIYA: A group of eight people including seven women were arrested after they stormed an official bungalow and ducked the estate bosses with dung water before assaulting the two men.
The bizarre incident took place in the Oltan Yaya Estate in Maskeliya on Thursday (18) following a festering dispute between the company management and the workers.
It was revealed that the Superintendent and his deputy had insisted that the workers complete the work that had been ignored the previous day owing to a strike, before they are paid.
This led to a heated confrontation between the two parties and the rest is now known.
The workers were arrested and remanded while the two estate bosses sought treatment at the Dickoya Base Hospital.
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SI, PS member, among five held in botched extortion bid
BALAPITIYA: A Police Sub Inspector (SI), a Pradeshiya Sabha Member and five others were arrested while allegedly trying to extort Rs. one million from the chief incumbent of a Buddhist temple at Pathegama in Balapitiya.
The suspects had accused the clergy man of dealing in narcotics adding that he would be arrested unless he came up with the cash.
An alert temple hand who had overheard the goings-on quickly informed the nearest police station on what was taking place in the temple.
A mobile patrol from the Balapitiya Police Station had rushed to the scene but after the suspects had made their getaway.
A hunt was launched for the group and they were subsequently found hiding in a safe house.
Investigations later revealed that the SI was serving as the Actg. Officer in Charge (AOIC) of the Traffic Division at the Norwood Police Station.
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Long haired tourist guide and the doctor’s ATM card
GALLE: A doctor withdrew cash from a bank and left in an apparent hurry leaving his ATM card in the machine.
A long-haired tourist guide who was the next to use the machine quickly retrieved the card and made a bolt.
Having convinced himself that he would not be traced the guide made hasty purchases of liquor and food items in the area.
The doctor was alerted on the missing ATM card following a text message confirming that it was being used for purchases of goods from a fancy supermarket outlet.
The police were quickly alerted and the guide was clearly identified on the bank’s CCTV footage.
Armed with a download from the footage investigators strolled along the beaches at Unawatuna, Galle and before long the man was spotted and taken into custody.
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Tattoo search on students leads to uproar
JAFFNA: A group of parents in Jaffna were seething in anger last week after 72 male Grade 11 students were forcibly stripped to the waist by the school authorities who were looking for tattoos concealed on their bodies.
The incident took place at a school in the Valikamam Educational Zone, and the furious parents have taken the matter up with the local police and the Human Rights Commission.
The school authorities had launched a sudden inspection after receiving information that certain students had tattoos on their bodies.
At the end of the search the authorities could not find any tattoos but instead they must face the ire of the seething parents.