… for facilitating release of main suspect in schoolgirl Vidya’s rape and murder

The Vavuniya High Court has sentenced former Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) Lalith Jayasinghe to four years rigorous imprisonment for facilitating the release of a suspect connected to the 2015 murder of schoolgirl Sivaloganathan Vidya in Punkudutivu.

High Court Judge M.M. Mihar also imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 on Jayasinghe, with an additional six-month prison term to be served in the event of non-payment.

Vidya, an 18-year-old schoolgirl from Punkudutivu, was abducted, gang-raped, and murdered in Jaffna on 13 May 2015, while returning home from school. The main suspect, known as ‘Swiss Kumar’, was apprehended by local residents and handed over to the police.

Jayasinghe, who was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department on 15 July 2017, was found guilty of aiding the suspect’s escape while in custody.

The High Court ruled that the prosecution had proven the allegations beyond reasonable doubt.

The judge also issued open warrants for the arrest of Sri Gajan, a former Sub-Inspector of the Crime Investigation Division of Kytes Police, who was also named as an accused in the case.