News

Around 40 people have been injured in a bus accident in Halagala, Warakapola along the Colombo-Kandy road.

Police said that the accident occurred when two SLTB buses, one travelling from Colombo to Kandy and the other travelling from Kandy to Colombo collided with each other.

The injured people have been admitted to Warakapola Hospital.

A spokesperson for the Warakapola Hospital said that one of them in critical condition was transferred to the Kegalle Hospital.

A container truck transporting beer bottles has met with an accident on the Colombo-Ratnapura main road in the Meennana area in Eheliyagoda, completely blocking the road.

Heavy traffic congestion has been reported in the area due to the incident, said Ada Derana reporter.

A large number of beer bottles have fallen on the road and shattered after the container truck reportedly toppled while taking a bend.

The Third Reading of the 2025 Budget was passed in Parliament with amendments by a majority of 114 votes this evening (21).

A total of 159 members voted in favour while 45 parliamentarians voted against the inaugural budget of the NPP government.

The vote on the Third Reading of the budget for the financial year 2025 took place at 7.45 p.m. this evening (21) following the President’s speech.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, presented the Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill for the year 2025 (Budget Speech) to the Parliament on the February 17.

From February 18 to 25, the debate on the Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill (Budget) was held for seven days.

Accordingly, the Committee Stage debate was held for 19 days from February 27 until today (March 21).

Meanwhile, President Dissanayake arrived in Parliament this evening to participate in the final day of the Third Reading debate on the 2025 Budget and delivered a special statement before the vote on the budget.

Suspended Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon was remanded until Thursday (20), by the Matara Magistrate's Court. An order with regard to bail, will be made tomorrow.

Deshabandu Tennakoon arrived at the Matara Magistrate's Court on Wednesday (19) morning.

Tennakoon's court appearance is linked to a shooting incident near the W15 Hotel in Weligama on December 31, 2023.

Earlier, a joint operation was launched to arrest suspended Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon, under the direct supervision of the Acting IGP.

The operation aimed to apprehend not only Deshabandu Tennakoon but also individuals who are aiding and abetting him in evading arrest.

On February 28, Matara Magistrate ordered the arrest of Tennakoon and eight others based on the CID's findings into the incident that took place in 2023.

Following further submissions by the CID, the Magistrate Court issued an open warrant for Tennakoon's arrest.

On March 7, Tennakoon filed a writ petition with the Court of Appeal, seeking an interim order to suspend the Matara Magistrate Court's directive.

The petition was however, dismissed.

On December 31, 2023, a shooting occurred in front of the W-15 Hotel in Pelena, Weligama, Matara.

A Colombo Crimes Division officer was killed, and another officer was seriously injured in the incident.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) conducted an investigation and reported the findings to the Matara Magistrate Court on February 27.

On 31st December 2023, Eight officers from the Colombo Crimes Division, dressed in civilian clothes, went to Weligama, claiming that associates of a drug-related suspect named Harak Kata were staying at the hotel. The CID revealed that the officers opened fire at the hotel.

Subsequently, officers from the Weligama Police and the Special Task Force arrived at the scene, and had opened fire at the fleeing Colombo Crime Division officers' van.

The van fled towards the Imaduwa entrance of the Expressway, where the police eventually apprehended them.

One of the main allegations against suspended IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon was that he had sent Colombo Crime Division officers to the Southern Province for personal reasons.

Investigations later accused Tennakoon of maintaining an unofficial armed squad.

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The Commissioner General of Elections, Saman Sri Ratnayake, says that the nominations process for the 2025 Local Government Elections was conducted across 25 districts from March 17 to 12 noon yesterday (20).

According to the Election Commissioner General, nominations were accepted for a total of 336 local government institutions.

Nearly 2,900 groups are contesting the elections, with around 2,260 of these representing political parties.

Additionally, he stated that of the total nominations submitted, nearly 425 have been rejected.

Commenting further, Saman Sri Ratnayake explained that nominations are reviewed by a Nomination Board.

“Nomination papers must be submitted in accordance with Section 28 of the Act. Based on this legal framework, the Nomination Board rejects any submission that fails to meet the required criteria. Each rejected group is then informed in writing about the reasons for the rejection,” he stated.

The Supreme Court ruled that the detention order issued by then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) against a woman, who was arrested over the charges of drug possession in 2020, is in violation of the law.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court ordered the government to pay Rs. 100,000 in compensation to the petitioner, for the violation of her fundamental human rights.

This verdict was issued by the Supreme Court today (18), after considering a petition filed by the woman in question, who was arrested by Peliyagoda Special Investigation Unit in 2020 over drug possession.

Matara Magistrate Aruna Indrajith Buddhadasa today ordered legal action against individuals who aided and abetted suspended Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon in evading arrest.

The decision follows a Court of Appeal ruling that strongly condemned Tennakoon’s actions.

On March 17, the Court of Appeal dismissed Tennakoon’s writ petition seeking to prevent the execution of an arrest order issued by the Matara Magistrate’s Court in connection with a shooting incident.

The court then directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to take immediate steps to arrest Tennakoon and present him before the court.

Tennakoon was wanted over a 2023 shooting incident near a hotel in Weligama, involving officers from the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD), Weligama Police, and the Special Task Force.

The incident resulted in the death of a CCD officer and injuries to another, with investigations alleging Tennakoon’s involvement.

A warrant for his arrest was issued on February 28, 2025, along with an international travel ban. Despite this, he evaded capture, prompting the launch of a joint-special operation to capture Tennakoon.

(Newswire)

President Anura Kumara Disanayake stated that steps will be taken to provide the necessary facilities to eliminate organized crime and drug abuse, as well as to introduce new legislation.

The President made these remarks during a discussion held today (18) at the Presidential Secretariat with the police chiefs of the Western Province.

He emphasized that maintaining the rule of law is a key responsibility of the Police Department.

President Anura Kumara Disanayake further stated that a just society cannot be established in Sri Lanka without ensuring the supremacy of the rule of law. (PMD)

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and Attorney-at-Law Buddika Manathunga has resigned from his position as the Police Media Spokesman, Ada Derana reported.

According to reports, Manathunga has submitted his resignation letter citing personal reasons to Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Priyantha Weerasooriya.

ormer Minister Mervyn Silva has been remanded until March 24 following his appearance before the Mahara Magistrate's Court.

Silva, along with two others, was arrested on March 6 under allegations of violating the Public Property Act.

The suspects were presented to the court in the afternoon, where the Chief Magistrate of Mahara ordered their remand until today.

The 2025 Local Government Election will take place on the 6th of May 2025, announced the National Election Commission on Thursday (20).

The submission of nominations for the local government elections concluded today at 12 noon.

The process of accepting nominations began on the 17th at 8:30 AM.

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has categorically rejected the ‘Batalanda’ Commission report.

“I wholly reject the report. No one can say the report was kept hidden. It was published as a sessional paper in 2000 but no one including the JVP asked for a debate,” Mr.Wickremeisnmghe said in a special statement today (16).

He pointed out that the commission report mentions the heinous terrorist acts committed by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) during the 1988-90 period.

He also said that there is no precedent in this country or anywhere else in the world of debating a sessional paper 25 years after it was published.