Hostage Drama in Tea Factory: Jeevan Thondaman and CWC leaders appear before Nuwara Eliya Magistrate

By Ranjith Rajapakse

Minister of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development Jeevan Thondaman and three senior leaders of the Ceylon Workers’ Congress appeared before Nuwara Eliya Magistrate Prabuddhika Lankandi yesterday in connection with a complaint. The complaint alleges that on May 30, the minister and several of his supporters entered the tea factory in Pedro Estate, Nuwara Eliya, and took the staff hostage for several hours.

The police had sought the Attorney General’s advice on June 22, and the names of the suspects would not be submitted until the ongoing investigations were complete.
However, the lawyers representing the estate company, who had submitted the names of the suspects, informed the court that the police were not taking action to arrest them. They requested that the court order the arrest of the suspects.

Minister Thondaman, National Leader of the CWC S. Sathyavel, senior member Logadas, and former Chairman of Nuwara Eliya Pradeshiya Sabha Yoganathan appeared before the Magistrate in connection with the complaint.

The Magistrate, noting that the police had not named the suspects, postponed the case until August 26. She ordered that the Nuwara Eliya SSP or ASP should appear before the court and report on the matter.

Meanwhile, the National Organiser of the CWC, S. Sathyavel, told the media that they appeared before the court because the estate company had named the minister and three others as suspects, and they did so out of respect for the court.