Ex-Army Intel Brigadier Remanded Over Threats in Eknaligoda Murder Trial

COLOMBO (News 1st); Retired Brigadier Shammi Kumararatne of the Army Intelligence Unit, the main accused in the High Court trial concerning the abduction, murder, and disappearance of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, has been arrested on charges of intimidating a key witness.

The suspect was presented before the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court today (11) and subsequently remanded until the 25th of this month.

Journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda went missing on January 24, 2010. Investigations conducted since then have revealed that he was abducted and murdered.

In connection with this case, the Attorney General has filed indictments against ten individuals, including retired Brigadier Shammi Kumararatne, before the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial at Bar. The trial is currently ongoing.

Most of the accused were serving in the Army Intelligence Unit at the time of the incident.

The Head of the Investigation Unit of the Authority for the Protection of Victims and Witnesses informed the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court today that retired Brigadier Kumararatne had threatened Suresh Kumar, a key witness in the Eknaligoda case.

It was revealed that the threats were made on multiple occasions using the retired Brigadier’s personal phone number.

Additionally, the report submitted to the court included details of another threat made on June 6th from the same phone number by a former army officer.

Excerpt: An individual named Mohammed, identified as a military officer, allegedly called and stated that LTTE Intelligence Chief Vinayagam had arrived in Mannar with weapons through the port. He further claimed that the current government under Anura would not last long and that the next leader would be either Namal Rajapaksa or Vijeyweera’s son. He warned of an LTTE threat and urged the witness to come to Colombo and stay with him. This complaint was filed at the Ichchalampattu Police Station and reported by the Officer-in-Charge. End of Excerpt

The Head of the Investigation Unit also confirmed to the court that the phone number used to intimidate the witnesses has been investigated and verified.

Considering these facts, the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court ordered that retired Brigadier Shammi Kumararatne be remanded until the 25th and instructed that he be presented before the Permanent High Court Trial at Bar on the 13th for the ongoing trial.