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| Sunday, 10 November 2002 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Colombo night life turning Chicago style? by Jayampathy Jayasinghe The fear psychosis caused as a result of violent brawls in Colombo's five star hotels in the recent past will put a damper on Colombo's night economy the government is hoping to revive after ending two decades of civil war which had left the country's economy in tatters, hotel sources told the 'Sunday Observer'. The hotelier who spoke in anonymity said that several hotel staff including females have shown a reluctance to work the night shift owing to frequent brawls taking place in five star hotels that have left many injured. The city hotels which sought the services of hefty doormen known as "Bouncers " to physically throw out trouble makers in hotels had discarded the practice of employing "Bouncers" several years ago, after "influential" persons started patronising hotels with their own band of body guards armed with weapons. A hotelier remarked that he has second thoughts of bringing down foreign musical groups to Sri Lanka during the festive month of December owing to such problems. Meanwhile some city hotels are lobbying to have police posts in their hotel premises where VIPs gather. Colombo Crimes Division's (CCD) SSP, Gamini Seneviratne, assigned by DIG Colombo Bodhi Liyanage to investigate the brawl at Trans Asia hotel last week said that seven persons who had worked as security persons for the businessmen involved in the fracas have been taken into custody. Of the seven, one person had previously served in the Police elite Special Task Force. He had been dismissed from the police some time ago. The other person had served in the armed forces. All the suspects involved in the fracas were produced before court and remanded till completion of investigations. The police have asked for an identification parade. Meanwhile the CCD officers have recovered a foreign manufactured pistol and several rounds of live ammunition belonging to a suspect from Werahera area involved in the fracas. The suspect is being grilled by the police as to how he came to possess the pistol and ammunition. The police have also recovered a luxury vehicle belonging to one of the businessmen from Keleniya area used by the body guards. Colombo Crime Divisions Director, SSP Gamini Seneviratne has deployed several teams to apprehend several other suspects involved in the attack. |
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