Overseas travel ban issued on Rajitha

The Colombo Magistrate’s Court has issued an overseas travel ban on the former Minister Rajitha Senaratne, stated Ada Derana reporter.

Considering a request made by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Colombo Additional Magistrate Priyantha Liyanage issued the order to the Controller of Immigration and Emigration, today (23).

The CID informed the court that investigations have revealed that the relevant media briefing under investigation has been conducted under the full patronage of former Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne.

Accordingly, the CID requested the court to issue an order preventing the MP from leaving the country as it might hinder the investigations.

Meanwhile, former Minister Rajitha Senaratne has filed two anticipatory bail applications preventing his arrest.  His first anticipatory bail application was rejected while the second application got him a date of inquiry (December 30) after submitting fresh affidavits.

On the 10th of November this year, Senaratne had called the said press conference, which was attended by two persons named Anthony Douglas Fernando and Athula Sanjeewa Madanayake.

During the briefing, the duo had made controversial statements and allegations regarding “white vans” and purported incidents of certain abductions, assassinations, robberies and forced disappearances during the administration of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

One of them had claimed that he was a “white van” driver involved in abducting people while the other claimed he once served as a driver to transport a stock of gold in previously LTTE-held areas.

On December 02, the CID presented a submission to the Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne regarding the said media briefing. 

Considering a request made by the CID, the chief magistrate had ordered several media institutions to submit the unedited video footage from this press conference to the investigators for onward probes.

The investigations in this regard were launched after a complaint was lodged by an individual named Kumudu Pradeep Sanjeewa Perera.

The CID later arrested the two individuals in question and detained them for 72 hours for onward interrogations.

The duo was subsequently produced before Colombo Chief Magistrate, who delivered an order to remand them until December 27.