The Gangodawila Magistrate heard the submissions by former Colombo Additional Magistrate Thilina Gamage and the Attorney General's Department and reserved the order on granting bail to Gamage for 6 p.m. today.

Gamage has been named a suspect for allegedly possessing an elephant calf with no valid license.

The elephant named 'Sakura' was discovered from his residence in early 2015. Its value has been estimated at Rs 6.9 million, the CID informed court yesterday.

In his submissions today, Gamage said that he bought the elephant in good intention from a buyer by the name of Yatawara. If it did not have a valid license and had been captured from the wild, its fault lies not with him but the person who sold it to him, Gamage claimed.

Therefore he cannot be charged under the Public Properties Act and only the Bail Act is valid in this case, Gamage added. Therefore, he urged the court to grant bail for him.

Senior State Counsel Dilipa Peiris countered Gamage's arguments, saying that the individual named Yatawara was a mere figurehead. He is actually a welding mechanic and investigators were able to locate him at Rikillagaskada after considerable difficulties. He has given an affidavit where he says that he gave the elephant to Gamage, Peiris said.

It was also informed to court that the individual named Yatawara had since disappeared. It has to be investigated if Gamage had any involvement in this, Peiris also submitted.

Furthermore, the Senior State Counsel maintained that Gamage had disappeared for nearly 20 days without appearing at the CID or the courts. If he is granted bail, he could once again do the same, Peiris argued.

Update: Former Magistrate Thilina Gamage Granted Bail Over Case Regarding Elephant Calf