Sri Lankan passenger arrested after alleged rape-attempt during flight -Updates

Sankar of Batticaloa who played with the legs of ....
                      a white lady doctor when she was asleep on the flight!

The youth who was involved in sexual abuse committed on a British lady on a flight that took off from Heathrow Airport to Sri Lanka appeared in courts yesterday.

The British 27 year old lady, a young doctor, had to face this harassment when she was in deep sleep with her lover on the said flight. The lady had been to the
side of the accused and when her leg had moved to a side during sleep, he had kept her left leg between his legs and had tried to commit a sexual act on her thighs.

This British lady who had then sensed from physical contact that something unexpected was taking place, had drawn her leg away the moment she awoke from her deep sleep and had then observed that this man was engaged in a degrading act and had shouted out. At that moment her lover who too happened to be a doctor himself had got upset over the scene. Later the staff of the Sri Lankan aircraft had mediated in this instance and had shifted the culprit to another place.

The officers had taken steps to hand over the man to the police when the aircraft landed in Colombo. The person concerned was a 41 year old married man by the name of Sankar Pillai Athpalagan. He had been born in Batticaloa. He had migrated to Britain during his childhood and obtained citizenship there and was serving at a McDonald's restaurant there.

He had come to this country on this occasion to attend the funeral of one of his relatives, police sources say.

The mishap has occured last 18th evening on UL 504 on an airline belonging to Sri Lankan Airways.

The suspect who was produced before Negombo Magistrate yesterday was released on a personal bond of Rs.1 lakh and cash bond of Rs. 10000 and was released after that. He was ordered to appear for a further inquiry on 28th.