NO wonder the city of 'beggars' !
The probe of the identity of a suspicious beggar arrested at Kiribathgoda recently during a security clamp down took a dramatic turn when it was revealed that the suspect is a multi-millionaire.
Suspect Kodiwithanage Ranjith Perera was produced in Hulftsdorp courts on December 30 and was warned and discharged by the Magistrate.
We arrested him on December 29 in Kiribathgoda Town as he failed to establish his identity and he was begging by pestering the pedestrians, said Kiribathgoda OIC, Chaminda Edirisooriya.
This beggar who resides in Mt. Lavinia, the investigations revealed, owns a two-storeyed house at Mirihana, two-acre coconut cultivation at Embilipitiya and Rs. 1 million in his bank account, the Inspector said.
The inquiries also revealed that the 50-year-old multi-millionaire had fled from home at the age of 11 and first took to begging with an elderly beggar.
He has made his living by begging in several parts of the country for the last 38 years. His wife and daughter had died a few years back and his son has been ailing for some time.
Perera has told the Police that he earns about Rs. 5,000 a day by begging and that he spends his earnings to provide treatment for his son, while living a well-to-do life. |