The newly formed government, led by Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has reportedly initiated efforts to reopen investigations into seven unresolved and high-profile murders and fraud cases in Sri Lanka, according to recent reports.
A special committee, chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security, Mr. Ravi Seneviratne, has recently convened and made the decision to resume investigations into the following cases:
- The Easter Sunday Attack
- The Central Bank Bond Scam
- The Assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunge
- The Murder of Wasim Thajudeen
- The Disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda
- The Abduction and Ransom of 11 Youths
- The Controversial MiG Aircraft Deal
These cases, some of which have remained unsolved for years, are now under renewed scrutiny by the government as part of their commitment to justice and transparency.
The Ministry of Public Security has instructed the Acting IGP to expedite the police investigations into seven high-profile cases including the Easter Sunday bombings and the controversial Treasury Bond auction in 2015.
Instructions have also been given to expedite investigations into the death of businessman Dinesh Schaffter death and the death of a police officer during the shooting incident near the “W15” Hotel in Weligama in 2023, according to the Police Spokesman.
Police Spokesman DIG Nihal Thalduwa said the Ministry of Public Security has instructed the Acting IGP to direct special attention and to expedite several special investigations being carried out by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and other agencies as the progress of these investigations have been observed to be somewhat insufficient.
He stated that specially the investigations being handled by the CID were recently subjected to a review and that instructions were given with regard to several cases identified including the bond scandal and the Easter attacks, to assign more officers and expedite investigations.
DIG Thanduwa said instructions were also given to further investigate the suspicious death of businessman Dinesh Schaffter in 2022 and the disappearance of the former Eastern University Vice Chancellor Prof. S. Raveendranath in 2006.
With regard to the latter, he said that it was observed that investigations have not been sufficient and that the ministry instructed to expedite investigations and report on the progress.
He said instruction were given to expedite investigations into the incident where a Police Constable was killed in a shooting carried out by officers of the Weligama Police Station near the “W15” Hotel in Weligama on December 31, 2023.
The police spokesman added that instructions were issued to launch investigations into the abduction and murder of Tamil journalist Taraki Shivaram, also known as Dharmaratnam Shivaram, on April 28, 2005 as well as to expedite probing the disappearance of activists Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganathan in Jaffna on December 9, 2011.