How Douglas Devananda, who was to be imprisoned for 90 days, was limited to 72 hours

The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), which led to the long-term detention of many Tamil youths during past government regimes in Sri Lanka, has now become a boomerang, targeting EPDP leader and former minister Douglas Devananda. He, a powerful minister who supported the government during the Chandrika Bandaranaike and Rajapaksa administrations, is currently being held under the same act for 72 hours, an incident many see as an irony of fate.

A pistol provided by the security forces for Douglas Devananda's protection was found in the possession of an associate of underworld leader Makandure Madush, who was assassinated in 2020. This discovery has become the immediate cause for his arrest.

The underworld member in custody has revealed that Douglas Devananda provided him with the pistol, and that he committed several murders using that firearm. Since building a case solely on this confession might be challenging, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has launched a wide-ranging operation to arrest individuals who witnessed Douglas Devananda handing over the weapon to Makandure Madush and turn them into state witnesses. Although the CID requested government permission to detain Douglas Devananda for 90 days for a prolonged investigation, Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala rejected the request and ordered the investigation to be completed within 72 hours.

However, it is speculated that obtaining old information from Douglas Devananda during these investigations will be a significant challenge for CID officers. The main reason for this is the attack launched against him by a group of LTTE suspects at Kalutara Jawatta Prison on June 30, 1998. During that incident, a blow to his head with a sharp weapon caused damage to the neural centers of his brain. Although a medical team, including specialist neurosurgeon Dr. Sunil Perera of the National Hospital in Colombo at the time, performed a five-and-a-half-hour surgery and saved his life, Douglas's associates point out that he suffers from some memory impairment due to that injury.

Furthermore, there is documented evidence that in 2001, the Sri Lanka Army provided Douglas Devananda with 13 T-56 automatic firearms and 6 small firearms, including pistols. Currently, only one of these weapons has been found in the possession of an underworld member, and no information has yet been revealed as to whether the remaining weapons are still with the EPDP or have fallen into the hands of other parties. It is reported that Douglas Devananda is scheduled to be produced before the court after the expiry of the current 72-hour detention period.