The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) today (September 20) arrested two female officers serving in the Navy on suspicion of being involved in the abduction and disappearance of two women, Shashikumar Thenmoli and Mary Delsia, in Trincomalee in 2008.
The two female officers, Deepa Sandamali and Aruni Kause, have been arrested. They are scheduled to be produced before the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court tomorrow.
The two suspects were previously arrested by the CID in connection with the abduction and disappearance of a person named Shantha from Alawwa in Kegalle and produced before the Polgahawela Magistrate’s Court.
They are currently out on bail in connection with that case, and when they arrived at the CID today to sign in connection with the separate investigation into Thenmoli and Mary Delsia, they were arrested.
They were previously arrested in connection with the Kegalle Shantha incident based on the facts revealed during the CID investigations into the illegal detention of individuals at the ‘Gun Site’ secret detention facility allegedly located within the Trincomalee Navy Base.
As revealed in a previous revelation, these two officers had admitted to working in a special naval intelligence unit allegedly operating under D.K.P. Dassanayake. They had stated that they only carried out administrative work and were not involved in the activities related to the individuals detained at the Gun Site. They had denied the charges against them.
The basis of the current investigation is the alleged abduction of two women, Shashikumar Thenmoli and Mary Delcia, by a group of people in white vans in the Palayutri area of Trincomalee on 13 May 2008.
The two are relatives of a person named Kishore Kumar, and it has been revealed that one of the women is his sister and the other is his brother’s wife.
Investigations are ongoing based on evidence and statements received in this case that they were abducted and detained at the Gun Site secret detention facility located within the Trincomalee Navy Base.
Accordingly, the arrest of Deepa Sandamali and Aruni Kaus, who were previously arrested in connection with the Kegalle Shantha incident and later released on bail, and now on suspicion of the Thenmoli and Mary Delcia incident, is another important development in the CID investigation into the alleged illegal detentions and disappearances at Gun Site.
(With in inputs from Satahana News story)