Wellawatte robbery trial, 24 years later, former army officer and driver freed

The Colombo High Court yesterday acquitted and released a former Army Captain and his personal driver, who had been indicted over a 2001 incident in which they were accused of breaking into a jewellery shop in the Wellawatte area and robbing a mobile phone worth Rs. 20,000 by threatening the occupants with a Rambo knife and a firearm.

- ByBHAGYA SILVA

Accordingly, former Army Captain Udayashantha Kodituwakku Dissanayake and his personal driver llanga Shiran were ordered to be released by High Court Judge Lanka Jayaratne nearly twenty-four years after the alleged incident.

Announcing the verdict, Judge Jayaratne observed that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.