Another warrant for Basil

Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasekara has ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to immediately arrest and produce three individuals, including former Minister Basil Rajapaksa, in connection with an incident where 7.8 million rupees belonging to the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau was misused for political propaganda during the Uva Provincial Council election held in 2014. According to this order, in addition to the former minister, the former chairman of the bureau, Bashwara Gunaratne, and the former managing director, Rumi Jawfer, are also to be arrested.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) informed the Fort Magistrate through a motion that steps have been taken to name these individuals as suspects under the Public Property Act, acting on the instructions of the Attorney General. Investigating officers told the court that although they went to the residences of the suspects to arrest them, the suspects were not present at those locations at the time.

Meanwhile, considering a request made by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Magistrate ordered a travel ban preventing these suspects from going abroad. The court has also taken steps to immediately inform the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration regarding this order.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) revealed to the court that 12,000 T-shirts were printed in 2014 using the funds of the said bureau, claiming it was for tourism promotion activities. It was further revealed that one side of these T-shirts featured the image of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and the other side bore the name of a political party. The police further informed the court that this stock of printed T-shirts was distributed for a political program held in the Monaragala district, coinciding with the Uva Provincial Council election campaign.