9 lakhs from Thalawakale relief deposited into an officer's relative's account.

Investigations by the Nuwara Eliya District Secretariat have confirmed that an officer in charge of the Aswesuma welfare program at the Talawakelle Divisional Secretariat fraudulently credited Rs. 916,000, which should have been received by beneficiaries, to a relative's account. This financial irregularity was revealed after an initial inquiry conducted by the Divisional Secretary, considering the complaints made by beneficiaries that they had not received the relevant allowances.

Regarding the incident, Nuwara Eliya District Secretary Ms. Thushari Tennakoon has taken steps to suspend the relevant officer, and a complaint has also been lodged with the Talawakelle Police regarding this matter.

According to the complaint lodged by the Divisional Secretary with the police, the Rs. 916,000 involved in the irregularity was re-deposited into the Divisional Secretary's official account by the relevant officer on the 7th. However, arrangements have been made to conduct a full audit of the said account and submit the relevant report to the police in due course. Meanwhile, two female officers have been remanded in connection with a financial fraud exceeding one crore rupees that also occurred at the Norwood Divisional Secretariat, and the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Hatton Police is conducting investigations to arrest three more officers.

Commenting on this, Nuwara Eliya District Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Coordination Committee, Mr. Manjula Surawweeraarachchi, stated that information has been received that the total financial fraud at the Talawakelle Divisional Secretariat amounts to approximately Rs. 1.6 million, and an audit is underway regarding it. He further stated that it has been decided to conduct a special audit to ascertain whether all government subsidies, including Aswesuma, Ditwa allowances, Samurdhi payments, and the Rs. 5,000 allowance provided during the COVID-19 pandemic, have been properly received by the public, covering all 10 Divisional Secretariats in the Nuwara Eliya District.