Lieutenant Commander G. Laksiri, a key witness in a case regarding the abduction and disappearance of 11 youths in an alleged Navy abduction racket, has been threatened by six navy officers, including the Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, Police Spokesperson SSP Ruwan Gunasekara confirmed.
The victim is one of the main witnesses in the investigation where a key suspect, former Navy officer Lieutenant commander Prasad Chandana Hettiarachchi, was given protection at a Navy base by the then Navy Commander and current CDS, Wijegunaratne. The incident comes in the wake of a written recommendation by Senior DIG D.W.R.B. Seneviratne to IGP Pujith Jayasundara for action to be taken against Admiral Wijegunaratne under the Victims and Witness Protection Act of Sri Lanka for an attempt to influence ongoing investigations after he made false allegations against the chief investigating officer of the case. According to the complaint made at the Fort police station, six persons had threatened Lieutenant Commander Laksiri in the Navy mess. He has also said that he got away when they tried to assault hm.
However, according to UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera, Laksiri had been assaulted by CDS Wijegunaratne and had not just been threatened. “Lft. Com Laksiri, a key witness of the 11 missing youth case has been severely assaulted in front of CDS who is also a key suspect. A return to @PresRajapaksa era of fear & intimidation,” the tweet said.
CDS Wijegunaratne is to give a statement to the CID today on the same case.