Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam on Thursday demanded an independent investigation into the death of former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena, saying the circumstances “could not be dismissed as a simple suicide” and alleging that Chandrasena had recently filed an affidavit naming threats from a senior anti-corruption official.
According to Kariyawasam, the affidavit stated that Chandrasena had been taken to the office of the Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), Ranga Dissanayake, where he was allegedly threatened and warned to comply with certain demands or face “a similar fate” to another individual connected to a case involving former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.
Kariyawasam further claimed the affidavit alleged attempts to use Chandrasena to implicate former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and MP Namal Rajapaksa in legal proceedings.
The SLPP General Secretary also questioned how Chandrasena, while reportedly in remand custody, had been able to secure two bail guarantors. He called for an immediate inquiry into who introduced the sureties and whether prison or CIABOC officials were involved, and urged the courts to examine CCTV footage from the relevant facility.
Chandrasena was found dead at a Colpetty residence on Thursday morning in what police described as a suspected suicide, one day after Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama issued a warrant for his re-arrest on a CIABOC motion alleging that the sureties who had signed for his bail had no knowledge of his employment or whereabouts.
The Bribery Commission had earlier moved to revoke the bail granted on May 5 — a Rs. 500,000 cash bond plus three Rs. 10 million sureties — and two of those paid sureties were themselves remanded under the Bail Act of 1997.
Kariyawasam said even suspects in custody were entitled to legal protection in a democracy and called on the government to “reveal the truth” about the chain of events leading to Chandrasena’s death. CIABOC has not publicly responded to the allegations.
Source: Newswire.
