Overseas travel ban imposed on Patali Champika

Colombo Magistrate’s Court today (13) issued an overseas travel ban on Parliamentarian Patali Champika Ranawaka over ongoing probes on the case against him regarding a motor accident in 2016.

An individual named Thusitha Kumara, who served as the parliamentarian’s driver at the time, was also imposed an overseas travel ban.

Back in 2016, the vehicle in which the former Megapolis and Western Province Development Minister was travelling in had collided against a motorcycle, causing life-threatening injuries to its rider.

The injured youth was identified as Sandeepa Sampath from Godagama area.

The pillion rider of the motorcycle, who had chased after the vehicle that caused the accident, later testified that then-Minister Patali Champika had been driving the vehicle.

Despite the youth’s testimony, another person had surrendered to the Borella Police over the incident.

Although footage obtained from CCTV cameras were used in the investigation, the footage from the day of the incident had already erased, the police had told the court when the case was taken up in March 2016.

However, the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) conducted an investigation on the incident again and presented submissions to the Colombo Magistrate’s Court today.

The CCD sought the court to temporarily suspend the foreign travels of the person who claimed to have driven the vehicle at the time of the incident.

Taking the request into consideration, the magistrate ruled that the overseas travels of the parliamentarian and his then-driver will be suspended temporarily.