- Vavuniya High Court recently ordered a one-and-a-half-year prison
- sentence suspended for seven years to Roshan Sanjeeva, a chief police
- inspector who gave false evidence in a trial held before the court,
- and to pay a compensation of 500,000 rupees to the aggrieved party.
- On March 30, 2011, the jeep driven by the then Member of Parliament
- Jeyaratnam Sri Ranga met with an accident and the police sergeant
- attached to the ministerial security division who was traveling died.
- The Vavuniya High Court Judge sentenced the then Settikulama Police
- officer, Inspector P.R Sanjeeva, who admitted, he had given false
- evidence to the court that the vehicle was driven by the deceased
- police officer.
- The sentence was given by the Vavuniya High Court to the former
- Settikulam OIC who pleaded guilty when the case was called on the 8th.
- Jeyaratnam Sri Ranga, a journalist, later became a Member of
- Parliament of the UNP. The unregistered car he was driving met with an
- accident at Vavuniya Settikulam area and during the accident police
- Sergeant Pushpakumara, who was deployed to protect the MP, died inside
- the car.
- Following this accident the Settikulama police OIC fabricated evidence
- that the car was not driven by the MP and that it was the deceased
- police sergeant who drove the vehicle. Later the deceased police
- sergeant’s wife made a complaint to the then Inspector General of
- Police N. Ilangakon. In the investigation conducted it was revealed,
- under the influence of several senior police officers, the Settikulama
- police OIC has submitted false information.
- During further investigation conducted by the Police it has been
- revealed that the Settikulama police OIC has acted illegally during
- the accident on the instructions of Mahinda Balasuriya, who was the
- Inspector General of Police. However, OIC Roshan Sanjeeva, has raised
- his concern to the IGP Mahinda Balasuriya. IGP Mahinda Balasuriya had
- called the OIC Roshan Sanjeewa to Colombo and deployed an acting OIC
- to the Settikulam and and changed the police record books by altering
- the evidence as it was the deceased Sergeant Pushpakumara who drove
- ministers vehicle and met with the accident.
- It was revealed even the police record books had been changed. But
- Roshan Sanjeewa, who worked as the OIC, was charged of vicarious
- liability. The sergeant, who changed the police records and presented
- a false B report to the court was also accused for changing the
- information and evidence notes. Accordingly two police officers work
- were suspended.
- As a case was filed against these officers in the Vavuniya High Court
- for reporting false statements to the court and accusing them for
- aiding and abetting, the then Inspector General of Police N.
- Ilangakoon suspended their work.
- In 2019, after the files of the investigation conducted by the Police
- Investigation Unit were forwarded to the Attorney General, the
- Attorney General instructed the Senior Superintendent of Police, who
- was working under the Vavuniya Police Division during the accident and
- the the OIC of Settikulam Police, and six suspects, including MP Sri
- Ranga, to be arrested and brought to court. Accordingly, these six
- suspects have appeared in court.
- Police Inspector Roshan Sanjeeva, who was under suspension due to the
- misconduct caused by the Inspector General of Police, admitted that he
- had given false evidence to the court, although he protested the
- incident of changing the information of the police but admitted that
- he gave false testimony to the court. It is reported that the Vavuniya
- High Court ordered the above punishment for the two charges leveled
- against him.
