Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader Udaya Gammanpila on Monday questioned the credibility of the post-mortem on Finance Ministry Assistant Director Ranga Nishantha and called for a fresh forensic panel, describing both the death and the existing investigation as “suspicious.”
Speaking at a media briefing, the former minister said the conclusion that Nishantha’s death was likely a suicide caused by excessive bleeding from multiple cut injuries was premature and lacked sufficient forensic backing. Toxicology and pathology tests had not been completed before the conclusion was reached, he said, and it was not possible to determine whether the death was a suicide or a homicide until those examinations were finalised. Gammanpila also questioned why the Police described the death as a suicide before the post-mortem findings were complete.
He called for forensic analysis of fingerprints on the weapon involved and for blood samples found at the scene to be tested to determine whether other individuals were present, adding that the composition of the existing post-mortem panel raised questions over potential bias. A new panel of senior forensic experts should be appointed to conduct a fresh examination, he said, “to restore public confidence.”
Nishantha had reportedly lodged a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department over an alleged cyber fraud before he was found dead at his residence. His wife formally complained to Police that the death was suspicious — a concern noted in correspondence linked to the inquiry.
Gammanpila is the second senior opposition figure to publicly contest the suicide finding after Mawbima Janatha Pakshaya leader Dilith Jayaweera linked the death to the Treasury cyber heist whistleblower thread. Police initially treated the case as a suicide at Kuliyapitiya on April 30; the underlying USD 2.5 million Treasury cyber heist probe remains active.
Source: Newswire.
