5 held over break-in at India visa center

COLOMBO: Police have arrested five individuals including a woman for their involvement in the breaking and entering incident at the Indian visa application centre IVS Pvt. Ltd in Colombo last week.

Several stolen items including a laptop, a mobile phone, a tablet PC and a digital video recorder (DVR) were reportedly recovered from the possession of the suspects.

According to the Bambalapitiya Police, the stolen laptop belongs to the chief local agent of the visa application centre.

The female suspect was revealed to be a member of the cleaning staff of the visa application centre. Her paramour is also among the arrestees.

In the early hours of last Wednesday (Feb 15), a group of three who arrived in a three-wheeler had made off with the stolen valuables after sneaking into the building.

Parts of the DVR were found discarded near a canal in Kirulapone.

The suspects had stolen the aforementioned items after their attempt to steal money from the visa application centre was unsuccessful.

Later on Feb 15, the Indian High Commission in Colombo announced that IVS Pvt. Ltd in Colombo would remain closed until further notice, citing a “security concerns.”

However, the outsourced Indian visa application center resumed normal operations five days later.