News
Chamuditha fears for his life, accuses police of downplaying threats to him
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Hiru anchor Chamuditha Samarawickrema said that he feared for his life in the run-up to the Presidential Election scheduled for September 21.
The former Media Director to President Maithripala Sirisena told The Island that he lodged a complaint with the Piliyandala police recently following a disclosure made by civil society activist Namal Kumara regarding an alleged plot to kill him.
Responding to another query, Samarawickrema said that he brought the alleged death threats to the notice of the police as he firmly believed in the credibility of the information provided by Kumara.
In addition to the Piliyandala police, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has launched a parallel investigation into the complaint.
Samarawickrema said that he was concerned about the safety and security of his Cambridge court residence, in Piliyandala in spite of being provided with police protection since early 2022. The police never succeeded in apprehending those responsible for the February 2022 attack on Samarawickrema’s Piliyandaya residence.
Both the Piliyandala police and the CID recorded statements from Namal Kumara on separate days. Namal Kumara has claimed that a woman known to him recently informed him of the plot.
According to the source, four persons, based in Dubai, had plotted to harm Samarawickrema as he relentlessly targeted a certain political party.
Samarawickrema said that he was disappointed with the response of the law enforcement authorities as senior officers quite openly questioned the credibility of information provided by Namal Kurama, who had been a government informant and widely blamed for making an erroneous claim regarding an alleged plot to assassinate the then President Maithripala Sirisena and former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Samarawickrema said that the police instead of verifying Namal Kumara’s recent claim sought to undermine the investigation on the basis of his previous erroneous allegation.
Responding to another query, the Hiru journalist and freelancer said that he felt that there was no point in giving a statement to the CID or seeking help from the National Authority for the Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses.
Samarawickrema added that he earned the wrath of many unscrupulous persons for his work as a journalist.
Meanwhile Executive Director, Institute for Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES) Manjula Gajanayake has written to Senior DIG Lalith Pathinanaye regarding the threats faced by Samarawickrema.
Gajanayake, in a letter dated Aug. 26, has stressed the responsibility on the part of the police to take swift action, particularly against the backdrop of the forthcoming Presidential Poll.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development to award the contract for printing and supplying vehicle number plates for the Department of Motor Traffic for a period of five (5) years to M/s South Asian Technologies based on the recommendations of the High-Level Standing Procurement Committee and the Procurement Appeal Board.
The National Lotteries board has been established subject to the Finance Act No. 11 of 1963. Having identified the requirement of amending that act which was imposed around 62 years to cater the current requirements of the lottery market, the Cabinet of Mnisters at their meeting held on 14.02.2017 granted approval to draft a new bill for the purpose.
Accordingly, the National Lotteries Board has recognized further amendments to be performed to the fundamental draft bill prepared by the Legal Draftsmen.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval for the
resolution furnished by the President in his office as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to direct the Legal Draftsmen to finalize the formulation of the draft bill for the National Lotteries Board as soon as possible including the proposed new amendments as well.
The Werahara office of the Department of Motor Traffic performs issuance of temporary driving licenses in this country based on the driving licenses issued overseas, and measures have been initiated to render the service from a service window of the Department of Motor Traffic established at the Bandaranayake International Airport from 03.08.2025.
The fees charged for issuing temporary driving licenses have been published in Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 prepared under the provisions of the Motor Traffic (Authority 203) Act.
But, as the fee of Rupees 2,000/- charged for the service is not sufficient, the requirement of amending the regulations has been recognized.
The regulations for introducing the revised fees have been published in the government extraordinary gazette
notification No. 2463/04 dated 17.11.2025. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development to
submit the regulations to the Parliament for its concurrence.
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