Police seek public help to find terror suspect

The police yesterday released four sketches of a man suspected to have altered the seats of the white van found parked near the St. Anthony’s Shrine in Kochchikade on April 22, and sought public assistance to arrest him.

Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said the sketches were drawn based on information received from four different eyewitnesses.

The owner of the van (WPPJ 4080) had been identified as Mohamed Azam Mohammed Mubarak, alias ‘Abdullah’, who detonated a bomb at the Kingsbury Hotel, SP Gunasekara said.

The van was found parked near the Kochchikade church packed with explosives, and the Bomb Disposal Unit of the Special Task Force (STF) had to neutralize it through a controlled explosion on April 22. Criminal Investigation Department (CID) investigations had revealed that the suspect, the van owner, and another person was involved in altering the van’s seats.

The CID had questioned and recorded the statements of four eyewitnesses who had seen the suspect involved in altering the seats.

The eyewitness had described the suspect as being five feet six inches tall, slim, fully bearded, fair and between 25 to 40 years of age.

A police officer attached to the Police Criminal Records Division (PCRD) had drawn the four sketches based on the eyewitness descriptions.

The police requested the public to provide any information regarding the suspect to the CID or to any of the following numbers: 011-2422176 and 0112392900.