Cinnamon Gardens Police have arrested a 36-year-old man in connection with an attempted abduction near a prominent girls’ school in Colombo.

The arrest was made yesterday (7 May) following an investigation into a complaint filed on 2 May by a woman who stated that an unidentified man entered her vehicle as she arrived to pick up her daughter from school.

According to the complaint, the man got into the backseat where the 8-year-old child was seated and demanded that the woman drive the car. The child reacted in fear, and the mother refused to comply, instead pulling her daughter out and calling for help. The suspect then fled the scene.

Police said surveillance footage revealed the suspect escaping in a taxi, which helped identify him. Following a lengthy investigation, he was arrested in Kolonnawa earlier today.

The suspect has been identified as a resident of Kolonnawa.