Sri Lanka court tells detectives to probe SLPP MPs comments

COLOMBO (News 1st); SLPP Parliamentarian Sanath Nishantha at a media briefing had made comments in a manner that affect the judiciary, President's Counsel Upul Jayasuriya told the Fort Magistrate's Court on Wednesday (24).

The President's Counsel alleged that the comments affect the Lawyers and Officers from the Attorney-General's Department who attend to judicial matters.

Accordingly, Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage ordered the Criminal Investigations Department to obtain the original video of the press conference where the MP made the comments from the respective media institution, and conduct an investigation.

SLPP MP Sanath Nishantha is a suspect in the case filed over the attacks on the GotaGoGama protest site on the 9th of May 2022.

The Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court ordered MPs Sanath Nishantha, Milan Jayathilake, and Dan Priyasad to surrender their mobile devices to the Criminal Investigations Department on Wednesday (24).

The trio is named as suspects in the case filed over the attack on the GotaGoGama protest site on the 9th of June 2022. 

Court also ordered the suspects to be detained in court until they surrender the mobile devices to the CID.

The court made the relevant order as the trio failed to comply with a previous court order to surrender their mobile devices to the CID.

Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage noted that if the three suspects fail to comply with the order, their bail will be terminated, and they would be returned to Remand Custody.

When the case was called up on Wednesday (24), the CID told the court that MPs Milan Jayathilake, and Sanath Nishantha, as well as Dan Priyasad, and Satha Nalaka, were instructed by the Magistrate to surrender their mobile devices for the investigations, however, they had failed to comply with the directive.

The Magistrate ordered MPs Milan Jayathilake, and Sanath Nishantha, as well as Dan Priyasad, to surrender their mobile devices to the CID on Wednesday (24), as Satha Lanka is already in remand custody for a separate case.

The Counsel appearing for the aggrieved party in the matter questioned the reasons as to why the authorities have failed to arrest Senior DIG Deshabandhu Thennakoon, who is also a suspect in the case, and produce him in court.

The CID officers informed the court, that the Attorney General had advised them that he would issue the necessary instructions on Senior DIG Deshabandhu Thennakoon at the conclusion of the investigations.

The matter will be called up again on the 5th of October.

Notably, MPs Johnston Fernando, Sanath Nishantha, and Milan Jayathilake were present in court.