Update, September 24: The missing driver returned the official cab to the National Paper Corporation’s head office in Colombo 06 at around 6.30 a.m. on Wednesday, two days after he disappeared with it — then left again and has not been seen since, Hiru News reported.
He parked the vehicle in its designated space and told a security officer he was going to get ready and would return shortly, according to police. He left the premises and did not come back. Wellawatte Police are continuing to search for him.
The original report follows.
Wellawatte Police are investigating the disappearance of the National Paper Corporation chairman’s driver, who has not been seen since taking the corporation’s official cab for a repair check earlier this week.
According to the complaint, the driver went missing while travelling from the corporation’s head office on Stafford Road, Colombo 06, to the chairman’s house in Kadawatha to collect him.
The sequence
When the cab failed to arrive at the scheduled time, the chairman telephoned the driver, who said the vehicle had a fuel leak, police said.
The chairman instructed him to take the cab to a vehicle repair shop in the Kadawatha area to have it inspected. The driver did go to the premises and showed the vehicle — but the mechanics found no fault with it, according to police.
The driver did not report to the office by around 4:00 p.m. on Monday, 21 September. Attempts were made to reach him by telephone, but his phone had been switched off by then.
The complaint was lodged by Saman Priyankara Fernando, the corporation’s transport manager.
The investigation
Police said inquiries are proceeding on several fronts, including telephone analysis reports and CCTV footage.
The missing driver is 29 years old and a resident of the Kandaliyaddapaluwa area in Ragama.
Investigations are being conducted under the direction of Wellawatte Police OIC, Chief Inspector Mohan Silva, by a team that includes the Miscellaneous Complaints Branch OIC, Sub-Inspector V. Ganewatta.
No arrest has been reported, and the corporation has not issued a public statement on the matter.
Hiru’s two filings differ on two spellings: the driver’s home village appears as Kandaliyaddapaluwa in the first report and Kendaliyaddapaluwa in the second, and the transport manager as Saman Priyankara Fernando and Saman Priyangara Fernando.
