A motorist who had allegedly hit and ran a homeless man in the Horton Place with his Porsche sports coupe last Sunday had been nabbed by the Cinnamon Gardens Police yesterday following a thorough operation, the Police said.
Cinnamon Gardens Police responding to a public telephone call launched a strenuous investigation to find the motorist responsible for the death of a homeless man, who was found lying in a pool of blood on the Horton Place on early March 26 morning.
A team of Cinnamon Gardens Police Traffic Branch led by its OIC Indika Kumara and SI Suraj Abeseykara reached the scene of crime around 5.45 a.m. and rushed the victim to the Colombo National Hospital.
The unidentified man was pronounced dead upon admission.
The body was kept at the morgue until his identity was determined, the police said.
ASP Colombo City Traffic Central D. L. A. Suriyabandara initiated an investigation to find the motorist to soon realise that no trace of the car could be found in any of the Police CCTV cameras situated near the Wijerama Junction on the Horton Place following the accident.
The officers then collected private CCTV camera footage that led them to a clue of a car passing the scene at high speed towards the Alexandra Place Roundabout.
The car that goes through Green Path to Liberty Roundabout entered Duplication Road (R.A. De Mel Mawatha) and quickly takes a turn into Clifford Avenue near the Expo Lanka Office, according to Police.
The detectives then sought the help of Department of Motor Traffic to trace the vehicle and collect registration details of the suspect vehicle. The search returned 160 red coloured two door sports cars.
The probe was narrowed down to 12 probable cars and finally the ownership details of the vehicle suspected to be linked to the case was found.
The Police team was surprised to learn that the owner was from the same neighbourhood in the Horton Place.
The suspect was subsequently taken into custody and when inquired, the motorist had admitted that it was him, who met with the accident.
The motorist had told the Police that he thought it was an animal that hit his car. He had reportedly sent the expensive car to a mechanical garage in Dehiwela which was later taken into custody by the Police.
The Suspect was produced before Colombo Traffic Court and was ordered to be remanded by Acting Magistrate Chamini Wijebandara. When contacted ASP Suriyabandara said that it was one of the strenuous probes in the traffic field they did with hardly any clue in the hand. (Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana)
