Investigations about the birthday party celebrated by Ishara Sewwandi indoors

A special police investigation has been launched into an attempt to celebrate the birthday of a suspect named Ishara Sewwandi, who has been detained at the Colombo Crimes Division for about five months under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, in connection with the attempted murder of underworld leader Ganemulla Sanjeewa at the Colombo Aluthkade Magistrate's Court.

All arrangements had been made to cut a cake and celebrate her 27th birthday, which fell on the 29th, inside the Colombo Crimes Division. In a context where bringing food and drinks from outside for suspects is prohibited for security reasons, her brother and a female relative had brought this cake. However, based on prior information received, a team including Deputy Inspector General of Police Nishantha de Zoysa, who is in charge of the Colombo District, and Senior Superintendent of Police Mahesh Kumarasinghe, who is in charge of the Colombo Central Division, raided the location without any prior notice, took the cake into police custody, and thwarted the celebration.

In connection with this incident, the Deputy Inspector General of Police has submitted recommendations to Police Headquarters requesting the suspension of the Station OIC, who serves as a Chief Police Inspector at the Colombo Crimes Division, and the initiation of an expedited disciplinary inquiry against him. The Police Media Spokesperson confirmed that investigations have already been launched through a special investigation unit against the responsible officers, acting on the instructions of Acting Inspector General of Police Sanjeewa Dharmaratne and Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Sanjeewa Medawatta, who is in charge of the Western Province.

After the incident where she disguised herself as a lawyer and carried a firearm into court, this suspect was brought back to the country by a special police team including Assistant Superintendent of Police Rohan Olugala on October 15 last year, after she had fled to India and then to Nepal. Her brother, who brought the cake for her birthday, had also previously been remanded and released on bail on charges of aiding and abetting this murder attempt. Similarly, her mother, who was also remanded on the same charge, had passed away while receiving treatment in hospital due to an aggravated cancer condition.

This is not the first time such incidents have been reported within the Colombo Crimes Division in recent times. Recently, steps were taken to suspend a police officer who had developed a relationship with a young woman from Jaffna, brought from Nepal with Ishara Sewwandi and known as "Duplicate Ishara" due to her resemblance to Ishara, and had gone to feed her. Furthermore, it is an open secret within the police that a cake was cut and celebrated inside the Colombo Crimes Division for the birthday of Kanjipani Imran, a powerful drug trafficker who was deported from Dubai and brought back to the country in 2019.