There is a suspicion whether Kapila deleted the CCTV at the house of the deceased Aravinda.

Silent testimonies emanating from within the secure walls of a famous cricketer's house in Kollupitiya are weaving a mysterious tale about the final hours of a former airline chief.

During the magisterial inquiry into the suspicious death by hanging of Mr. Kapila Chandrasena, former CEO of SriLankan Airlines, at the residence of former veteran cricketer Mr. Aravinda de Silva, which was called yesterday (26) before Fort Magistrate Mr. Pasan Amaraseena, it was confirmed in court that the security camera system at that house was functioning flawlessly. A serious suspicion has thus arisen that relevant data may have been deleted to conceal some information from this inquest, and the fact that CCTV data was similarly not functioning at Kapila's other residence has intensified this suspicion.

Mr. Hemantha Saman Kumara, a technician who maintained the camera system at Mr. Aravinda de Silva's residence on Pedris Road, Kollupitiya, testified that in 2024, he rectified a fault in the machine and installed a five-camera system with a new monitor there. During questioning by officers, including Chief Sub-Inspector Aruna Krishantha of the Colombo Crimes Division, he further emphasized that after that repair, he personally demonstrated to the residents that the footage was being recorded properly, and that he never visited that house for maintenance work thereafter.

Meanwhile, the testimony of Mr. Indika Manoj Rathnayake, a long-time friend of Mr. Chandrasena, who came forward to provide a massive personal bail of one hundred lakhs (ten million) rupees on behalf of Mr. Chandrasena, who was remanded in connection with the controversial Airbus deal, unfolded an emotional picture of the deceased officer's last night before the court. He stated that he had known the deceased for about ten years and detailed that, according to a request made by Mr. Chandrasena before his remand, he went on May 5th at the lawyer's summons and signed for bail.

The sequence of events on the night before the tragedy is extremely crucial. According to Mr. Manoj Rathnayake's testimony, on May 7th, he went to Mr. Aravinda de Silva's house, and later went to the lawyer's office with the Silva couple and others to discuss the case. Afterwards, they returned to Mr. Silva's house, had dinner, and everyone dispersed around half past eleven at night. He confirmed that Mr. Kapila Chandrasena was still alive and present in that house at that moment.

The next morning, Mr. Rathnayake, shocked to see the news of his friend's sudden death in a phone message, immediately called Mr. Aravinda de Silva, who gave only a brief reply: "I'm at the police station, I'll talk later." While the Magistrate ordered the examination of testimonies from President's Counsel Rienzie Arsecularatne and Attorney Udara Muhandiram to be postponed to the 29th, the question of what happened in that massive house after half past eleven that night still remains hidden within the silently recorded CCTV footage.