Police on Saturday arrested the suspect wanted over the double murder of an elderly couple inside a shop in Dickoya Town, Hatton, following a manhunt launched after the killings.
The suspect was taken into custody while hiding at a house in a tea estate within the Bogawantalawa Police area, based on information received by investigators. Several items of gold jewellery allegedly stolen after the murders were also recovered.
According to preliminary investigations, the suspect, a native of Badulla, had been residing in Dickoya after marriage. Police said the house where he was hiding belonged to a woman he had reportedly met through social media.
The elderly couple, who lived inside the shop in Dickoya town, were found murdered on Friday.
Investigators said the suspect had earlier visited several jewellery shops in the town posing as a customer interested in purchasing a gold chain. He had then allegedly entered the victims’ shop, remained hidden inside, carried out the murders, and fled with jewellery.
Hatton Police had earlier released CCTV footage of the suspect and appealed to the public for assistance in tracing him. (NewsWire)