Sri Lanka military is paying for the defense of military personal detained in the suspicion of abduction and killing of journalists Prageeth Eknaligoda, reports lanka-e-news.
There are 9 army officers in CID custody over the Ekneliyagoda abduction and murder. Of them three are retired officers, two are them were with the LTTE and later worked with the Army intelligence division. The remaining four are still in service. They are residents of different areas of the country.
The report further says that on the instructions of the army commander Lieutenant Colonel Mahathanthila of the intelligence division is now visiting the houses of the suspects and speaking to their wives to convince them that the army is deeply committed to rescue the army officers involved , and the necessary funds towards this is being disbursed from the army funds. These spouses had also been summoned and introduced to Kalinga Indratissa , a pro Rajapaksa lawyer.
Lawyer Kalinga Indratissa had filed 4 fundamental rights (FR) petitions and 4 habeas corpus petitions on behalf of the army officers. Kalinga had charged a fee for all these .All these payments had been paid in hard cash by Lieutenant Colonel Mahathanthila out of the army funds.
Moreover, when the CID officers visited the Girithale army camp to conduct a search, the army commander brazenly flouting the laws, has sent his officers who had impeded the investigation of the CID at the camp. The officers so sent were Captain Girihagama and Major Seneviratne.