Saturday, 12 April 2014 00:01
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President Mahinda Rajapaksa today freed a group of Presidential Security Division (PSD) officers jailed over their involvement in the harassment of popular singers Rukantha Gunatillaka and Chandralekha Perera several years ago.
The Panadura High Court had last year sentenced to jail 10 former PSD officers over the incident. The 10 former PSD officers were given 4 1/2 year jail terms and were also ordered to pay compensation to the victims.
Another former PSD officer was freed from the case by the Panadura High Court. The former PSD officers were attached to the security staff of former President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
The former PSD members were charged with unlawful assembly, organising, intimidating and robbing the property worth of Rs. 3.6 million from the house of Rookantha Goonatillake.
The musician’s wife Chandralekha Perera was also harassed. The incident took place in the year 2000 during the presidency of Chandrika Kumaratunga.
Fearing for their lives, Rookantha Goonatillake and his family left the country following the incident and lived in the United States. (Colombo Gazette)
