Arrested Hansard officer brought to parliament

Mohamed Naushad Jalaldeen, the 42-year old senior indexing officer attached to the Hansard Department of parliament, was brought to parliament for investigations today.

Police said the suspect, brought to Parliament under heavy police guard, was questioned for some two hours.

It was said the computer used by the suspect at the Hansard Department was also subjected to heavy checking.

The Hansard Department was made out of bounds for outsiders except for employees attached to it during the probe.

Meanwhile, parliament sources said the suspect kept to himself most of the time and spoke to only a few of his colleagues. He had worked in Parliament for 12 years and drew a salary of Rs.120,000 a month.

The Defence Ministry yesterday permitted a special police team of the Kurunegala Police to detain the suspect for three months for questioning.

The senior indexing officer was arrested in Kurunegala on Saturday on charges of aiding and abetting National Thawheed Jamaath (NTJ) leader, Zahran Hashim.