Woman Chief Inspector Varuni Bogahawatta, who served as Officer-in-Charge of the Administration Unit at the Kotawila Police Station, has been suspended from service following her remand in a financial crime investigation.
The suspension order was issued by Deputy Inspector General of Police Chamika Wickramasinghe, who covers the Matara and Hambantota districts, the Daily Mirror reported.
Bogahawatta was remanded after failing to disclose or verify the source of the funds used to buy a motor vehicle and pay its leasing instalments. Officers of the Financial Crimes Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department had earlier seized a Honda Vezel allegedly in her possession.
Investigators reportedly found that the vehicle’s leasing instalments had been paid by a person suspected of involvement in a financial fraud exceeding Rs. 1 billion at the Matara Cooperative Society.
The court proceedings
Bogahawatta and four other suspects were further remanded until November 20 by the Matara Chief Magistrate’s Court on Friday, The Island reported.
Chief Magistrate Chathura Dissanayake made the order after the CID told the court that its investigation would be concluded and its findings submitted on that date.
The Island describes Bogahawatta as the former Officer-in-Charge of the Kotawila administration division; the Daily Mirror says she “served as” the OIC. Sunday’s suspension order makes the distinction moot going forward.
How the case developed
The investigation became public in October, when the CID seized a car linked to her over the Matara Co-op fraud. She was remanded earlier this month by the same court.
Neither report names the individual alleged to have paid the leasing instalments, states the value of the vehicle, or identifies the four co-accused. No statement from Bogahawatta or her lawyers appears in either filing, and the allegations have not been tested in court.
