Thieving Wildlife officers arrested

By Dayaratne Embogama  

A group of three wildlife officers attached to Wilpattu wildlife conservation office and a civil security constable were arrested on suspicion of attempting to steal the roofing sheets in an abandoned building in the national park.  

The arrest followed the death an individual who fell down the roof while dismantling the roofing sheets and died on admission to hospital.  

Police said a resident of Nochchiyagama Ranabahu Mudiyanselage Sampath Bandaranayake (45) had been admitted to hospital by the suspect wild life officers complaining that he fell down a woodapple tree and received injuries. 

However, the police had conducted investigations to find that he had been deployed by the three wildlife officers and the civil security constable to remove the roofing sheets in an old building in the National Park and that he had fallen down the roof.  

The three officers including a wildlife range assistant, a wildlife guard a field assistant and a civil security constable were arrested on Saturday evening by Nochchiyagama police on suspicion of attempted theft of state property.  
 They were to be produced in court last morning.  

OIC Nochchiyagama police CI M.S.Kumarasena is conductiting further investigations.