Mount Lavinia Magistrate Chathurika de Silva today (5)ordered that former Minister and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) General Secretary Duminda Dissanayake, along with three other suspects, be remanded until June 19. The order follows the discovery of a gold-colored T-56 assault rifle at the Havelock City apartment complex in Wellawatte.
The suspects were arrested in connection with the incident, which is under investigation by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID). During today’s court proceedings, President’s Counsel Sampath Mendis, appearing for Dissanayake, drew the magistrate’s attention to an affidavit submitted by a TID sub-inspector to obtain a search warrant.
According to the affidavit, a suspect in custody claimed during interrogation that a yellow and black travel bag—previously located at No. 56, Skelton Road, Colombo 05—was later found in a room belonging to Vishaka Iraingani Kumari at the Elibank Tower in Havelock City, Colombo 06.
However, the suspect, also a cook, reportedly stated that he was unaware of the bag’s contents.
President’s Counsel Mendis pointed out inconsistencies between the affidavit and a subsequent TID report, which claimed that the bag containing the firearm was handed over by the third suspect to the first suspect. The affidavit did not mention the presence of a firearm in the bag, raising questions about the reliability of the statements.
Mendis emphasized that the statements made by the first, second, and third suspects were contradictory and questionable.
A previous court order had authorized a search of Duminda Dissanayake’s residence in Anuradhapura. TID officers reported that nothing suspicious was found, although they were unable to open a safe due to the absence of a key.
Investigators also discovered several airline tickets—purchased online by Dissanayake’s brother—inside the same bag that allegedly contained the firearm. These tickets are now part of the ongoing investigation.
Authorities have requested that the T-56 rifle and a CD containing CCTV footage from the first suspect’s residence be sent to the Government Analyst’s Department to confirm the weapon’s classification under the Firearms Ordinance and verify its presence at the location.
The magistrate granted this request and ordered the evidence to be submitted for forensic analysis.
TID officers informed the court that they intend to seek advice from the Attorney General as soon as the investigation concludes.
Due to the potential for interference with the investigation, the magistrate denied bail for all suspects and ordered that they be produced in court again on June 19.
Duminda Dissanayake was arrested on May 23.
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