CID orders financial reports on 63 Army Intelligence Officers

By Shiran Illanperuma

The CID has requested reports from over 30 financial institutes in which 63 Army Intelligence Officers linked to the murder of The Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge are suspected to have accounts.

A financial probe has also been ordered on former Army Intelligence Officer Kandagedara Piyawansa, who was a key suspect in the investigation into Wickrematunge’s murder but was released on bail in 2010 due to insufficient evidence.

According to Athula S. Ranagala, the lawyer representing the prosecution, Piyawansa’s account at a Nuwara Eliya branch of Bank of Ceylon is to be investigated due to suspicions of fraudulent financial gains since his release on bail.

Commenting on the case, which came up before the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court yesterday, Ranagala said that although the investigation had dragged on for seven years, it was now “rapidly gaining momentum and showing signs of progress”.

Meanwhile, the witness parade set for yesterday was postponed to 25 August due to the permanent judge being on leave.

The Mount Lavinia Magistrate Court also ordered a medical report to ascertain if a key witness is able to appear and bear witness in court. The witness claims to have seen the face of one of the assailants during the daylight murder of Wickrematunge in Attidiya in 2009. The witness claims he is able to recognise one of the assailants, who had raised the visor of his helmet and looked directly at him.

However, the Police was only able to locate the witness again in 2015, by which time he was paralysed due to a medical condition.

Lawyer Ranagala said: “Immediately after the killing of Lasantha, the witness was fearless and determined to see the case through and he still is. However, due to his present medical condition, he has some difficulty speaking and expressing himself so the Judge has ordered a medical report to confirm his ability to bear witness in Court.”