The driver of the SUV who narrowly escaped the deadly bus accident near Ella recently says the bus came “like a decorated pandal with lights, at lightning speed,” before colliding with his vehicle and plunging into a ravine, the Lankadeepa newspaper reported. 

The crash occurred on the Ella–Wellawaya main road near the 15th milepost on September 4, killing 15 people and injuring 18. 

Police said moments before the tragedy, the bus carrying municipal employees returning from a Nuwara Eliya excursion struck a luxury SUV carrying three brothers from Buttala. The siblings survived with only minor damage to their vehicle.

According to the newspaper, 22-year-old Chamindu Deshan, who was driving the Range Rover, said he and his younger brothers were returning home when the bus appeared suddenly.

“I saw the bus coming from Ella toward Wellawaya, lit up with flashing lights, speeding directly at me. I swerved left, but it clipped the right side of my vehicle and then vanished from sight,” he said.

Moments later, cries for help were heard from the ravine below. Deshan and his brothers, together with Sri Lanka Army personnel who arrived with ropes and flashlights, helped rescue several children and women trapped in the bus before emergency services reached the scene.

The brothers later gave statements to police, and Deshan was released on bail after being produced in court. Their vehicle sustained damage, but they escaped unhurt.

“Although our lives were spared, many innocent people lost theirs. We are deeply saddened by this tragedy,” Deshan said. (Newswire)

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The Mathugama Magistrate’s Court has issued an overseas travel ban on former minister Rohitha Abeygunawardene’s daughter and son-in-law.

The court order was issued following a request made by the Walana Anti-Vice Squad.

It is reported that the request comes following investigations into the illegally imported vehicle that was seized from the possession of SJB MP Jagath Withana’s son.

Initial investigations have found that the illegally imported SUV had been sold to Jagath Withana’s son by Rohitha Abeygunawardene’s daughter. 

According to the Divaina newspaper, despite several attempts, the police have been unable to locate Rohitha Abeygunawardene’s daughter for questioning. (Newswire)

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The Pelmadulla Police has arrested three persons for illegally importing an SUV and a car and using it with fake number plates.

According to the Police, based on a tip-off, officials from the Pelmadulla Police had found the two vehicles concealed inside a garage in the area in October 2024.

Further investigations led to the arrest of the three suspects yesterday. They are aged 49, 59, and 61 years, and are residents of Embilipitiya and Mamadala. 

The suspects have been remanded until 11 March 2025 after being produced before the Pelmadulla Magistrate’s Court yesterday. (Newswire)

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An illegally assembled SUV was seized by officials from the Walana-Central Anti-Corruption Unit while being driven in the Rajagiriya area on Sunday (09 Feb).

According to the Police, the illegally assembled vehicle had been seized during a raid conducted based on a tip-off.

The vehicle was seized on suspicion that it had been either illegally brought down to Sri Lanka in parts or had used stolen vehicle parts to be assembled, had been fitted with a tampered chassis and engine, and had been registered with the Motor Traffic Department using fake documents.

Based on the suspicion, the individual who had driven the vehicle, a 54-year-old resident of Rajagiriya, had been taken into custody on Tuesday (Feb 11). 

He was remanded until 13 February 2025 after being produced before the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court.

The Police revealed that an individual was apprehended in 2019 for having been in possession of an illegally assembled SUV bearing the same number plate as the vehicle seized in Rajagiriya this week. (Newswire)

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Former MP Sujeewa Senasinghe’s controversial luxury vehicle, which was in court custody, has been released on a bond of Rs. 100 million. 

The order was issued by the Fort Magistrate’s Court today. 

Former MP Sujeewa Senasinghe’s luxury vehicle, worth around Rs. 100 million, was suspected to have been illegally assembled.

On 08 November, Senasinghe was directed to bring the SUV to the government analyst after a tip-off to the Walana Anti-Corruption Task Force raised suspicions about the vehicle’s assembly status. 

Officials suspected that the Land Cruiser may have been reassembled.

On November 11, the Fort Magistrate’s Court ordered the CID to take the former MP’s vehicle into custody and produce it to the Government Analyst’s Department and obtain a report. (Newswire)

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A white colour SUV with fake number plates alleged to have been used by former state minister Lohan Ratwatte has been taken into custody on suspicion by the Theldeniya Police, it was reported.

According to the Lankadeepa newspaper, the Theldeniya Police said that based on a tip-off the vehicle had been found in the garage of an unoccupied house at the ICC Housing Scheme in the area. 

The Mitsubishi Jeep was found bearing the fake number plate KN 5556, while the Police had found that the number plate originally belonged to a red-coloured Prado belonging to a woman in the Pilawala area in Kandy. 

Former minister Lohan Ratwatte is currently in remand custody in connection to a vehicle without a number plate that was found at a house belonging to his wife in Mirihana recently. (Newswire)

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The Sri Lanka Police have recovered two luxury SUVs in the same colour and with the same number plate, it was reported.

According to media reports, the vehicles were found during a special operation conducted by the Western Province Northern District Traffic Division to control crime and traffic offences.

The two seized vehicles were transported to the Motor Traffic Department Commissioner’s Office in Werahera on Monday (Dec 11) to obtain reports on the two SUVs. Motor inspectors have carried out a thorough inspection of both SUVs and have given a report to be submitted to the court.

One of the luxury SUVs had been seized following a raid conducted on Negombo Road on December 05th, during which the driver of the vehicle was found to be only in possession of the revenue licence and not any other valid documents.

The revenue licence was found to be registered under an individual residing in Galle, while the vehicle was also found to have been registered in the Southern Province, and the driver was identified as a resident of Ragama. 

Upon suspicion, the Police inspected the vehicle and interrogated the driver during which it was revealed that the vehicle had been mortgaged for Rs. 2.5 million a few months ago and as the owner had failed to settle the mortgage he was utilising the vehicle.

The Police had seized the vehicle due to dissatisfaction over the information provided by the driver, after which they had cross-checked details of the vehicle with the Motor Traffic Department.

The cross-check revealed that the owner of the vehicle is a resident and a businessman in Galle, and he too owns a vehicle in the same colour and number plate.

Further investigations confirmed that a vehicle identical to that in the custody of the Police was in the possession of the Galle businessman, after which the Police had then taken custody of the vehicle in Galle as well. 

The two SUVs have been presented to the Motor Traffic Department Commissioner’s Office to identify which vehicle had been legally brought into the country and properly registered. (NewsWire)

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A luxury SUV, worth Rs. 15 million, which had been illegally imported to Sri Lanka by a politician from the Central Province has been seized by the Panadura Walana Anti-corruption Unit, it was reported.

According to Lankadeepa, the vehicle was to be sold for Rs. 10 million by the owner of a prominent car dealership. 

The vehicle had been seized while parked in the car park of an apartment complex in Narahenpita, owned by the car dealership owner, while he was also arrested yesterday (Nov 01).

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the vehicle had been illegally imported by the Central Province politician. From 2018 to 2022, it had been registered under his name at the Motor Traffic Department using forged documents.

The Police said, however, that the vehicle ownership was transferred to another person in 2022. 

Investigations had been launched into the vehicle after information had come to light that it was to be sold at a lesser price. (NewsWire)

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A police officer, attached to the Traffic Unit of the Cinnamon Gardens Police, died after being run over by a luxury car last evening.

According to CCTV footage, the accident occurred at the roundabout near the CCC Grounds while the car was travelling from the Nelumpokuna Theater in Colombo towards Independence Square.

The luxury car ran over the police officer who was on traffic duty at the site and collided with the fountain in the middle of the roundabout.

Lankadeepa reported that the 25-year-old police officer, a resident of Walasmulla, passed away this morning at the Colombo National Hospital.

The police have arrested the 28-year-old driver of the SUV. (NewsWire)

A 25-year-old traffic police officer has died after being run over by an SUV near Independence Square last evening.

CCTV: Viewer Discretion Advised pic.twitter.com/ZKlOKop1xM

— NewsWire (@NewsWireLK) October 6, 2023

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Four youths have been arrested on charges of having stolen an SUV worth Rs. 40 million from a vehicle sales outlet in Kurana, Negombo on Tuesday (28).

The Police stated that the suspects are aged between 18- 20 years and are residents of Kandawala in Katana. 

Investigations have revealed that the suspects included a 19-year-old employee of the car dealership, who had assisted in stealing the SUV between 06.30 pm – 10.15 pm on the said date.

The group had been apprehended after meeting with an accident in the Kochchikade area while fleeing from the car dealership after stealing the SUV. 

The Police stated that the accident had led to the arrest of the suspects. (NewsWire)

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