Making submissions to the Colombo magistrate today (05), the CID said there was suspicion that Perera had known beforehand about the murder plan.

Accused of covering up the investigations into the Thajudeen murder, the statements he had given to the police had many contradictions, the CID noted.

It pointed out that had Thajudeen died in a road accident, the investigation should have been conducted by the traffic division, but the probe had been undertaken by the crimes division.

Perera’s lawyer Ajith Pathirana rejected the allegation and said his client had acted in accordance with the laws of the country.

He had withdrawn from the case after the senior DIG of the area had handed over the investigation to another team, the lawyer added.

After considering the submissions, the court further remanded the suspect until May 12, and told the CID to listen to what both the complainants and the defendants had to say.