Five suspects have been arrested by the Kokkadicholai Police in coordination with the Eastern Province Crimes Division in connection with a series of robberies that left one woman dead and another hospitalised after being thrown into a well.

Police said the investigation was launched on 20 March after officers discovered two women inside a well in the Kulluvinamadu area of Nellikkadu. One victim was found dead at the scene, while the other was rescued and admitted to the Batticaloa Hospital for treatment.

According to investigations, the suspects had targeted lone female travellers by offering them transport in a three-wheeler.

Police said the victims were given drinks laced with an unknown substance after getting into the vehicle. Once they lost consciousness, the suspects allegedly robbed them of their gold jewellery before dumping their bodies into a water-filled well in an attempt to conceal the crime.

The deceased victim, a resident of Kaluwanchikudy, had reportedly been abducted on 28 February while returning from a bank and a government hospital.

In a separate incident on 19 March, the second victim had been travelling with her three-year-old child when she was lured into the vehicle under the pretext of being given a lift to Batticaloa.

After being drugged and robbed, she was thrown into the same well, while the toddler was abandoned in a paddy field in the Vavunathivu area. The child was later found unharmed.

Police said the main suspects — two men aged 22 and 34 from Navatkaddu and Batticaloa, along with a 26-year-old woman — were arrested on Sunday.

Two other men, aged 39 and 49, were also taken into custody for allegedly possessing and disposing of the stolen gold jewellery.

The stolen items have been recovered, and further investigations are ongoing, police said.