News

Young woman mysteriously dies after falling from apartment building

Published

8 months ago

September 9, 2023

editor

The body of a young woman, who had died after falling from the 13th floor of a multi-storey residential building, was recovered early this morning (Sept. 09).

Reports revealed that the deceased was a British citizen of Sri Lankan origin.

The body was found after the Mount Lavinia police officers received a complaint at around 2:40 a.m.

The 27-year-old had arrived on the island on March 08 this year and purchased an apartment unit in the aforementioned residential building located at Alwis Road in Mount Lavinia.

It was also reported that she was romantically involved with a young law student from the Wellawatta area with whom she had become acquainted via Facebook.

Upon her arrival, she had been living in the apartment with her 29-year-old boyfriend unit for the past six months. The police said the young man, who is pursuing higher studies in Switzerland, had returned to the island in 2022.

According to reports, she was supposed to fly back to England tomorrow (Sept. 10). During interrogations, the boyfriend told the police couple they had had a fallout in the early hours of the day.

It was also revealed that he had consumed at least 6 cans of beer before going to bed last night. He said he had looked for her after realizing she was missing and that he later noticed her body lying on the floor outside the apartment unit.

Mount Lavinia Police is investigating the incident further to ascertain if foul play was involved in the death of the young woman.

The magisterial inquest into the death was conducted this afternoon, and the post-mortem is scheduled to be performed tomorrow.

(Adaderana)

News

Prof. Nalin de Silva no more

Published

6 hours ago

May 2, 2024

editor

Philosopher, intellectual and academician Professor Nalin de Silva has passed away at the age of 79. Prof. de Silva initially served as a professor in the Department of Mathematics and later as the Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Kelaniya.

He was also a former member of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

In addition to his academic pursuits, de Silva also worked as a former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Myanmar.

News

‘Company issuing visa at BIA not Indian or Indian based’

Published

10 hours ago

May 2, 2024

editor

The Indian High Commission in Colombo has issued a statement over reports of Indian companies taking over visa issuance at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake.

The statement notes “companies referred to in these reports are not India based or Indian and are headquartered elsewhere. Any reference to India in this context is unwarranted.”

News

Chaos at BIA raises questions (Video)

Published

12 hours ago

May 2, 2024

nipuni

Questions have been raised after chaos at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake last night (May 01) has sparked widespread outrage.

This is with regard to a controversial takeover of the on-arrival visa issuance process at BIA by an Indian company – VFS Global since yesterday evening.

It is learnt that the company has levied an extra $25 alongside the standard $75 fee.

Long lines of frustrated travellers were also seen at the airport for several hours, which is a stark difference to the procedure smoothly managed in a matter of mere minutes by the Immigration and Emigration Department in the past.

Footage of a Sri Lankan citizen expressing outrage over Indian nationals deciding visa matters for fellow Sri Lankans, has also been making rounds on social media.

Although 10 Sri Lankan and Indian officers had commenced work from 5.00pm yesterday, the lines remained well over 9.00pm. Amid tensions, higher officials of the BIA and security forces had also arrived at the premises.

At 11.30pm the company officials temporarily suspended issuing visas and left the BIA with the money collected, reports say.

Upon the directive of the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration – Harsha Ilukpitiya, Immigration officers have commenced their usual duties with no issues since then, enabling the previous process to continue smoothly.

Concerns have been raised over the lack of transparency in this arrangement.