The Hindu priest, who had been charged of aiding and abetting the assassination attempt on former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a suicide bombing at Piththala Junction in Kollupitiya in 2006, has been acquitted and released by the Colombo High Court.
Colombo High Court Judge Sampath Abeykoon said that it has been uncovered that the confession made by the defendant, Iyer Sriskandarajah, to the police when the case was taken up for hearing was not made voluntarily.
The state counsel informed the court that apart from the confession, they are unable to produce any other evidence against the accused.
Sriskandarajah’s attorney President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris requested that his client be acquitted as the court has already decided that his confession was not voluntary and there was no more evidence against him.
High Court Judge Sampath Abeykoon accepted the request and ordered that the defendant be released.
The Hindu priest has been in remand custody for nearly 13 years over the charge.
