Rishad’s writ application fixed for support in November

The writ application filed by MP Rishad Bathiudeen, who was wanted over misappropriation of millions of public funds during last year’s presidential election, has been fixed for support on November 06.

The petition, which seeks the Appeals Court to prevent the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) from arresting the parliamentarian, was taken up before Justices Kumudini Wickramasinghe and Sobhitha Rajakaruna.

MP Bathiudeen was arrested at a housing complex located at Ebenezer Place in Dehiwala in the early hours of Monday (19).

He was later produced before the Fort Magistrate’s Court and remanded until the 27th of October.

Former Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen, the director of the project Mohamed Yaseen Samsudeen and the project accountant Alagarathnam Manoranjan are accused of violating Article 82(1) of Presidential Elections Act, No. 15 of 1981 by misappropriating public funds to the tune of Rs. 9.5 million.

They have allegedly misused 222 buses belonging to the state-owned Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) for transporting IDPs from Puttalam to polling stations in Silavathurai, Mannar during the 2019 Presidential Election.

The CID, upon the direction of the Attorney General, had sought the Colombo Fort Magistrate to issue a warrant to arrest MP Rishad Bathiudeen and the other two suspects on charges of criminal misappropriation of public funds and violation of election laws.

However, the magistrate ruled that the Police can proceed to arrest the suspects without a warrant. Thereby, Attorney General Dappula de Livera directed the Police to arrest the three suspects according to the law.

On October 14, the Fort Magistrate issued a travel ban on the parliamentarian upon a request by the CID.

The CID later deployed several teams to arrest the former minister, however, they were unable to locate and apprehend him until yesterday.