Colombo, Jul 20 (PTI) The four suspects who were arrested earlier this month for allegedly torching the private residence of Sri Lanka's newly-elected President Ranil Wickremesinghe were on Wednesday remanded in judicial custody till July 27.

The four suspects who were arrested on July 10, will be produced for an identification parade during the next hearing date on July 27, according to the Daily Mirror newspaper.

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Sri Lanka's Central Investigation Department has informed the Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage that an individual named Evan Perera, who was wanted for questioning over the incident has fled the country, the report said.

On July 9, in remarkable scenes of a country in meltdown, anti-government protesters set Wickremesinghe's private residence at Cambridge Place on fire.

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Wickremesinghe said much of the contents in his private residence were not salvageable, with extensive destruction to his 125-year-old piano and more than 4,000 books gutted.

“I have lost more than 4,000 books, including some that were centuries old,” Wickremesinghe told CNN in an interview on Monday. A 125-year-old piano was also destroyed in the fire, he added.

A video released by Daily Mirror newspaper on Twitter on July 10 showed grim visuals of Wickremesinghe's charred residence and a damaged sedan among others.

Paintings and artworks were strewn across the house and the compound.

Wickremesinghe was on Wednesday elected as Sri Lanka's President by Parliament.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)