Mahinda government's TRCSL Director Anusha Pelpita remanded

Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama ordered the remand of former Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, Anusha Palpita, who is accused of accumulating assets exceeding 46 million rupees beyond his legal income within a short period of two years, until February 06.

Assistant Legal Director Attorney Sulochana Hettiarachchi, presenting facts when the suspect was arrested and produced before the court by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, stated that the suspect was arrested under Section 23(a)1 of the Bribery Act due to his failure to disclose the legal sources related to the enormous assets acquired during the relevant period.

Investigations into this incident commenced in 2016 based on a complaint received in 2015, and it was revealed in court that although written inquiries were made regarding the acquisition of assets, the suspect had not provided proper answers. The prosecution pointed out that although the suspect had stated that 11 million rupees were sent by his wife's sister residing abroad and her husband, and that money was earned from selling land, no documents have been submitted to the commission to confirm these statements from 2016 to date.

The Bribery Commission informed the court that investigations related to the incident are still ongoing, and statements are to be recorded from the suspect's wife and her brother in the future. Officials also requested that the bail application be rejected, as there is a possibility that the suspect might influence witnesses if granted bail.

Senior Counsel Kanchana Ratwatte, appearing for the suspect, emphasized that his client had not acquired any illicit assets. After considering the arguments of both parties, the Chief Magistrate ordered the suspect to be remanded to prevent obstruction of investigations and instructed the Bribery Commission to expedite the investigations and report the findings to the court.