President’s brother remanded over hit-and-run mishap

Motor cyclist and pillion rider killed at Polonnaruwa

by Karunaratne Gamage-September 9, 2017, 8:06 pm 

A brother of President Maithripala Sirisena was remanded till September 11 in connection with a hit-and-run mishap, which killed a motor cyclist and the pillion rider at Polonnaruwa yesterday.

Police said that Gamaralalage Nanasiri Pagnaratne Sirisena surrendered to the police a few hours later and allegedly admitted that he was behind the wheel of the Land Cruiser jeep at the time of the accident.

He was later produced before Polonnaruwa Acting Magistrate Ruwan Kumara Mapa and remanded.

Police said the accident occurred at Ethumalpitiya on the Polonnaruwa-Hingurakgoda road around 1.10 am yesterday.

The victims were identified as two brothers L. M. J. M. Buddadasa (59) and L. M. J. M. Jayaratne (44), the father of three children. They were residents of Yatiyapatana, Kaudulla in Hingurakgoda.

Police said the elder brother was a kidney patient who had undergone dialysis at the Polonnaruwa hospital.

With the treatment completed at 12.50 am, the other brother was taking him home on his motorcycle when the mishap happened.

The two victims who were in a critical condition succumbed to their injuries in hospital. Police investigations are continuing.