No politics involved in ex-Minister’s arrest: Bandula

There is no politics involved in the arrest and detention of former Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka and legal action against him is based purely on hard evidence available to the law enforcement authorities, Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardana said yesterday.

Responding to the Daily Mirror at yesterday’s weekly Cabinet news briefing, Minister Gunawardana said the previous Yahapalana government harassed politicians of almost all parties, monks, professionals and many others in an act of political vengeance. But the Rajapaksa government would never resort to that kind of tactics and the arrest and detention of former Minister Ranawaka was entirely a legal process.

“A youth in my electorate has been severely injured from a road accident in 2016 involving Minister Ranawaka. Though justice was not meted out to the victim then, the law enforcement officers are attempting to rectify it now. The victim's family had been frightened after the accident so much so that the family requested me not to even visit them,” Minister Gunawardana said.

When the police on the direction of Attorney General visited Mr. Ranawaka’s residence to arrest him on Wednesday afternoon, he had asked whether Speaker Karu Jayasuriya was aware of the arrest.

“Speaker Jayasuriya was away overseas when the police spoke to him. However, Mr. Jayasuriya was informed by the police before the MP's arrest,” he added.

In response to a journalist, Minister Gunawardana said all court cases against members of the previous government that had been suppressed would be reopened.

"I lodged a complaint to the police the other day on misappropriation of Mahapola funds to the tune of Rs. two billion," he said.

Minister Gunawardana said there were eyewitnesses to the accident but later revealed that evidence had been manipulated and the CCTV footage on the accident had been deleted and added the arrest and detention had been done fully adhering to the law. (Sandun A Jayasekera)