SL cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka repeatedly choked victim during alleged sexual assault: Report
Sydney, Nov 11: Sri Lanka cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka's victim was choked repeatedly and was "fearing for her life" during his alleged sexual assault, according to media reports that quoted police documents.
The woman alleged that she was sexually assaulted four times in her home at Sydney's Rose Bay on November 2 after going out for a date with the cricketer, who was here as part of the Sri Lankan team for the T20 World Cup.
Gunathilaka, 31, was later arrested from his team hotel by Sydney police, even as other members of the Sri Lankan squad returned home following the side's exit in the Super 12 stage.
The left-handed batter was denied bail on Monday and is facing a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
In her complaint, the woman alleged that Gunathilaka tried to choke her three times during the sexual assault.
"The complainant tried to remove the accused's hand by grabbing his wrist, but the accused squeezed tighter around her neck," Australian media reports said quoting police documents.
"The complainant was fearing for her life and could not get away from the accused.
"She continually tried to pull away from the accused, a clear indication that she was not consenting."
The next hearing in the case is set for January 12.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has taken a strong note of the incident and suspended Gunathilaka from all forms of the game.
Shamed by the incident, the Sri Lankan government has asked SLC to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
Gunathilaka played against Namibia in Sri Lanka's first round match and was out for a duck.
He was later ruled out of the tournament due to an injury but stayed with the team after it qualified for the Super 12 stage.
Gunathilaka, who has represented Sri Lanka in eight Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20 Internationals, is no stranger to controversies.
In 2021, he was suspended by SLC for one year after he breached the team's bio-secure bubble on the tour of England along with teammates Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella.
SLC had also handed him a six-month ban in 2018 after he had broken the team curfew. In the same year, Gunathilaka was also suspended after his unnamed friend was accused of raping a Norwegian women.
In 2017, the board had suspended him for six limited overs games after it learnt that Gunathilaka missed training sessions and turned up for a game without his cricket gear.
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Fake call centre duping foreigners busted in Thane; five detained
Thane (PTI): The Thane police have unearthed a bogus call centre that allegedly cheated foreign nationals, particularly US citizens, under the pretext of selling software, an official said on Wednesday.
Five persons, including the call centre owner, were detained after a raid at the premises in the Ambernath area of Maharashtra's Thane district late Tuesday night, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Ambernath division) Shailesh Kale told PTI.
The bogus facility was operating from a business centre and functioned under the garb of providing software services, the official said.
"The call centre staff targeted foreign nationals, especially Americans. They contacted them on the phone, lured them with offers of software services and extracted money from them in different forms," Kale said.
The police received a tip-off about the illegal operations and raided the premises. The search operation continued till Wednesday morning, he said.
The employees used to make hundreds of calls to foreign nationals daily and would eventually succeed in duping a few of them, Senior Police Inspector Shabbir Sayyed said.
"They collected advance payments from the victims and blocked them after receiving the money," he said, explaining the modus operandi.
The employees were provided with a specific script for conversations to gain the victims' confidence and persuade them to transfer funds, he added.
The police have seized electronic gadgets and other accessories used in the alleged racket from the premises.
A case has been registered against five persons under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Information Technology Act and the Indian Telegraph Act, Kale said.
The police were verifying the victims' credentials and nationality.
