Dunesh Priyashantha, also known as Kondaya, today revealed that he never confessed to the murder of 5-year-old girl Seya Sadewmi in Kotadeniyawa and that all he did was sign a document handed over by the police. 

Speaking at a press conference in Colombo today after he was released on bail by the Gampaha Magistrate’s Court over previous cases, Priyashantha accused the officers of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of repeatedly assaulting him while in custody and even causing injuries to his head which was hit on the wall.

He said that he is not very literate and therefore was not entirely aware of what was said in the document produced to him. He signed since he could not stand the beatings, he added.

Priyashantha also said that the moniker “Kondaya” was created by the media. None of his friends nor anyone he knows calls him by that name, he pointed out. 

Attorney-at-law Udul Premaratne, who also addressed the media, pointed out that the only existing court cases against Priyashantha are for unlawful entry, assault and burglary. Reports claiming that he had pending cases regarding child molestation or any other serious crimes were all wrong, he said.

He also said that Sri Lanka was fortunate to have DNA technology which made it possible to clear Priyashantha from the murder case.