Rs. 40 m property transfer: Magistrate gives Kotte Mayor time to file objections
Tuesday, 14 January 2014 00:04
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The Kotte Municipal Council Mayor was yesterday granted time till 13 March by the Colombo Magistrate to file preliminary objects against the case in which he was alleged to have transferred in his name a property worth over 40 million and equipment to the value of Rs. 600,000 belonging to the Kotte Municipal Council.
The petitioner, Prasanna Ravindra Lal, a UPFA member of the Kotte Municipal Council, accused the Mayor, Janaka Ranawaka of No. 121/25 Sapumal Place, Welikada, and Gardeeya Arachchige Jochiem of No 27/5, Rosmead Place, Colombo 7, for allegedly getting a crown land 38.5 perches in extent at 3rd Lane, Koswatte, Nawala, worth over Rs. 40 million transferred in the name of Mayor Ranawaka during the period 1 October 2011 to 30 September 2012 fraudulently, by committing criminal breach of trust punishable under Section 392 of the Penal Code.
The petitioner alleged that the first suspect Janaka Ranawaka while being the Mayor of the Kotte Municipal Council and being a public servant keeping hold of the Municipal property for his own benefit and conniving with the second suspect Gardeeya Arachchige Jochem had committed an offence of retaining stolen property punishable under Sections 32 and 394 of the Penal Code.
It is also alleged that the Mayor abused his office by disposing articles worth over Rs. 600,000 that were in the concerned property and utilised by children who came to the children’s park, which is punishable under Section 12 of the Public Property Act.
During the Magisterial inquiry held earlier the petitioner said that the petitioner had been a UPFA member of the Kotte Municipality for over 10 years. He said Deputy Mayor Madura Vithanage had received several complaints from the residence in the area over the transfer of the crown land and illegal selling of articles that were in the property utilised for the children’s park.
He also said that the property owned by a private company was given to the Municipality in order to develop common amenities in the area. He asserted that the Municipality built the children’s park, which it also funded and maintained for the use of the residents.
It was also said an adjacent land approximately 54 perches in extent was given to a squatter named B. Ruwan by the Mayor and an assessment number was allocated to the squatter to enable him to obtained water and power supply.
Later the squatter’s occupancy in the land was terminated by the Municipality, thus a letter sent by Gunawardena and Ranasinghe Associates written on behalf of Gardeeya Arachcige Jochem had asked the Commissioner of the Municipality to eject Ruwan from the property as he was a squatter. The Municipality acting on that letter got a motion passed to eject squatter Ruwan.
However the Municipality, instead of ejecting Ruwan, took away the children’s park from where it was, fenced the property and placed private security guards to look after it. It was said that when inquiries were made from the security guards by the witness, he was told that they were assigned to look after the place by the Mayor and the bill was paid by the Mayor.
It was said that although the Mayor attempted to eject Ruwan from the property, Ruwan did not leave. Thereafter Ruwan was given Rs. 850,000 by the Mayor by a cheque. Ruwan had been told by the Mayor that since the Defence Ministry was initiating steps to throw out squatters from crown lands, to take that money and leave the property.
He said the Mayor had utilised labourers of the Municipality to build the fence around the children’s park. However, even after the Deputy Mayor complained to the Welikada Police about this illegal dealing, no action had been taken by the Police.
