The Need To Publish The Udalagama Commission Report

By Ranga Jayasuriya -July 11, 2013 |

Ranga Jayasuriya

In a dramatic turn of events in the conspicuously dormant Court case on the killing of five students in Trincomalee in 2006, the Trincomalee Magistrate on Thursday remanded 12 Police Special Task Force (STF) Commandos till 18 July, pending further inquiry.

That was after the 12 STF personnel, including one inspector, were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) earlier in the day and were produced before the Magistrate, at his residence in the night.

“They were arrested by the CID based on the findings of their investigation into the issue,” Police Spokesman, SSP Buddhika Siriwardene said.

He said the STF Commandos were remanded, pending a further inquiry and will be produced before the Magistrate on 18 July, when the Magistrate is expected to decide whether he would opt for a non-summary inquiry.

The 12 men, who were remanded on Thursday, were previously arrested in 2006, after the government was compelled by the local and international pressure to investigate the incident. However, they were subsequently released due to ‘lack of evidence,’ amidst allegations of widespread intimidation of witnesses and an officially orchestrated cover-up.                                     Read More