CID To Question Shiranthi Rajapaksa Over Murder Of Wasim Thajudeen
September 17, 2016
The Criminal Investigations Division (CID) will question former First Lady, Shiranthi Rajapaksa over the murder of ruggerite Wasim Thajudeen.
The Colombo Telegraph learns that along with the former first lady, her second son, Yoshitha will also be questioned with regard to a defender jeep used in the killing. The CID will question both Shiranthi and Yoshitha on the defender jeep believed to have been used in the abduction of Thajudeen. The vehicle which belonged to the Red Cross Society of Sri Lanka was donated to the Siriliya Saviya Foundation chaired by the former first lady. However, the defender jeep bearing WP – KA 0642 which was originally white, was repainted when it was used by the Siriliya Saviya Foundation for unknown reasons.
The CID during investigations had pointed out that changing the colour of the vehicle was highly suspicious as the vehicle was in very good condition and was only utilized for supposedly social service work by the foundation. According to the National Secretariat for Non-Governmental Organisations, the Siriliya Saviya is headquartered at the Carlton Bungalow in Tangalle.
Through the Court, the CID had also requested for a comprehensive analytical report from the Government Analyst after they received confirmation that the colour of the vehicle had been changed.
Rajapaksa’s eldest son, Namal and second son, Yoshitha, who are both currently out on bail in separate financial fraud and money laundering cases are alleged to have played a major role in Thajudeen’s murder. They have denied the allegations.
However, the investigation suffered a setback after the British Columbia Society of Laboratory Science recently ruled that the CCTV footage of the killing was unclear due to the low resolution and low pixels of the video hence they are unable to make a conclusive determination of the incident.
During the investigation it also came to light that on the day of the murder, the then OIC of the Narahenpita Police received several telephones calls from the Presidential Secretariat. However, the officers attached to the secretariat handling telephone calls at that time had deleted the phone records and they had resigned following the change in the Presidency last year. Former Senior DIG Anura Senanayake and former Crimes OIC of the Narahenpita Police Sumith Perera are currently in remand custody for concealing evidence with regard to Thajudeen’s murder.
