26 August 2023 12:00 am Views - 381
By Tony Karunanayaka
Former Director of the CID Shani Abeysekara and four others who stood charged with introducing a stock of explosives and weapons including a claymore mine and T56 rifles into a outhouse at Kalagedihena in Gampaha and fabricating evidence that the stock of weapons and explosives belonged to former Deputy Inspector General of Police Vaas Gunawardene and others and implicating them in a false charge were acquitted yesterday by Gampaha Magistrate Sheelani Chaturanthi Perera.
The suspects former Director of the CID SSP Shani Abeysekara, SI Sugath Mohana Mendis, Retired SI Navaratne Prematillaka, former IP Adrian Nishantha were acquitted on Attorney General’s instructions. IP Jagath Nishantha of the Colombo Crime Investigation Division told court that the Attorney General has been requested through the Director Police Legal division to proceed with the case against the suspects since adequate evidence was available. He requested court to reconsider the acquittal and to proceed with the case pending Attorney General’s response to it.
Attorneys at Law Hafeel Faris and Chaminda Atukorala appearing for the suspects submitted that the Magistrate’s Court should follow the instructions of the Attorney General.