Sri Lankan cricketer Dhanushka Gunatilaka arrested for rape in Sydney, strict action will be taken
Cricketer Dhanushka Gunathilaka, who accompanied Sri Lanka to the T20 World Cup here, was arrested here on Sunday on charges of sexual harassment, prompting the Sri Lankan government to order an “immediate inquiry” into the incident. Guntilaka, 31, is understood to have been arrested early in the morning and taken to the Sydney city police station. The action was taken after a probe into the alleged sexual assault of a woman on November 2.
A source with knowledge of the incident told PTI, “Dhanushka Gunatilka has been arrested in connection with the alleged rape. The Sri Lankan team has left Australia without him.” The Sri Lankan team crashed out of the tournament after losing to England on Sunday. Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement that if this player is found guilty, it will take strict action against him. “In consultation with the International Cricket Council, we will conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and take stern action against the player if found guilty,” the statement said.
The Sri Lankan government also reacted immediately and ordered Sri Lanka Cricket to conduct an immediate investigation. Amal Harsha de Silva, the top official of Sri Lanka’s sports ministry, told reporters, “We have ordered Sri Lanka Cricket to conduct an immediate investigation and submit a report.” Gunatilaka played against Namibia in the first round and was dismissed without opening an account. Done. After this he was ruled out of the tournament due to injury.
The Sri Lankan team qualified for the Super 12 stage but finished fourth in Group I. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Gunatilka and the woman were in touch with each other for the past several days through an online dating app. Along with this, in its report in the newspaper, it has been said that this player was arrested from a hotel in Sydney at 1 am local time. At that time the Sri Lankan team was preparing to leave for the airport to catch a 6 o’clock flight to go home.
Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty of the New South Wales Police’s Child Abuse and Sex Crime Squad said the woman had taken adequate precautions before going on a “date” with Gunatilka. According to Australian media, Doherty said, “It was unfortunate. It had nothing to do with dating apps or any other means of meeting.” The New South Wales Police also mentioned the arrest of a Sri Lankan national on their website.
“The sex crimes team has arrested a Sri Lankan man following an investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a woman in Sydney last week,” the report said. Ka was sexually assaulted at his residence in Ross Bay. It said, “This man met this woman after a long conversation on an online dating app. It is alleged that this woman was sexually assaulted on November 2, 2022. “After investigation, the 31-year-old was arrested from a hotel off Sussex Street at 1 pm,” it said.
This batsman has a long association with controversies. Earlier in the tour of England in 2021, along with his teammates Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella, he was suspended for a year by the Sri Lanka Board for violating the bio-secure environment of the team. In 2018, the board had banned the team for six months for violating the rules of the team.
In the same year Gunatilka faced suspension after an unidentified friend of hers was accused of raping a Norwegian woman. The board also suspended Gunatilaka for six limited-overs matches in 2017 for not attending the practice session and arriving for a match without his cricketing equipment. Gunatilaka has played eight Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20 Internationals for Sri Lanka.
