The Welisara Magistrate’s Court has ordered to remand a suspect until Jan. 19 over a brutal attack on a teenager.

The suspect had reportedly attacked a 14-year-old child with a sword over a dispute that had occurred between the two groups of people, resulting in a finger of the child’s left hand being severed, police say.

However, the suspect, Dilruk Prashantha Silva, a father-of-three, had surrendered to police after evading arrest for 11 days, following the discharge of the victim from the hospital, the police further said.

Nevertheless, on Sunday (15) Welisara Magistrate Thusitha Dhammika Uduwawidana ordered the suspect to be remanded in custody, after considering a request made by Ragama Police stating that the investigations are still underway in search of the sword used in the attack.

Attorney-at-Law Shamindra Soysa, who appeared on behalf of the victimized child before the courts, had previously filed a motion alleging that the police, who had arrested the suspect previously, had released the suspect due to the pressure exerted on the investigating officers by a senior police officer.

The magistrate, who took all facts presented into consideration, ordered the case to be recalled on January 19, 2024 and also ordered the police to report the progress of the investigations related to the case to the courts on the aforementioned date.