News
Magistrate tells Priyamali’s lawyers he cannot gag media
Thico Group owner, her partner, and Sirisumana Thera remanded till Nov. 16
By A.J.A. Abeynayake
Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage yesterday (02) remanded the owner of Thico Group of Companies (Pvt.) Ltd., Thilini Priyamali, her business partner Isuru Bandara, and alleged accomplice Ven. Borella Sirisumana Thera, till 16 Nov.
They were arrested for allegedly defrauding businessmen to the tune of three billion rupees.
First, Thilini Priyamali and Isuru Bandara were presented before the Magistrate via Skype. The Magistrate rejected bail applications filed by the defendants.
Then Sirisumana Thera was presented before the Magistrate. Investigators said that the monk had been arrested on Monday and the preliminary inquiries were not over. Future investigations would be hindered if the Thera was granted bail, CID investigators said.
It was revealed that Carom de Silva, a businessman, had visited the monk’s temple with Bandara. During such visits, the monk had pretended to be in a trance and asked the businessman to invest in Priyamali’s company. The businessman sold several lands and vehicles and invested Rs. 750 million, the Court was told. The businessman had been told that his money had been used to buy shares of top Sri Lankan companies. However, the money had not been invested in stocks, the investigators told the Court. De Silva had also donated a number of valuable gifts to the monk, the investigators said.
Chief Inspector Niroshani Hewapathirana told the Court that eight gold-plated brass bars had been found in Bandara’s house. These were used to convince investors that Priyamali was extremely wealthy, she said.
CI Hewapathirana told the Court that they had found Rs. 15 million in the possession of Bandara’s mother and she had told the police that the money belonged to Bandara. She also said Bandara had deposited seven million rupees in two private banks and the CID requested the Court to freeze the accounts. The request was granted.
The investigators told the Court that Priyamali had smuggled in a mobile phone to prison and she had made 11 phone calls. Six persons she called had been asked to make statements. However, none of them had visited the CID, the court was told.
Lawyers representing Priyamali told the Court that mainstream media and social media sites were circulating false information about their client and asked him to issue an order preventing the media from doing so.
Magistrate Gamage said that the Court could not instruct the media on what they could and could not publish.
The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) yesterday demanded an immediate termination of what it called a “secretive and dangerous” defence agreement signed between Sri Lanka and India, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 05 April visit.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Nugegoda, FSP Education Secretary Pubudu Jagoda described the agreement as a “betrayal of the nation” and a “crime against the people,” urging the government to invoke Article 12 of the deal and exit it with the required three months’ notice.
Jagoda said the document, which surfaced on social media after being published by a news portal, appears to be the actual agreement signed between the two countries. “The government has not denied its authenticity. That silence is telling,” he said.
Jagoda added that the agreement bears the signatures of Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry Secretary Sampath Thuiyakontha and Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha.
“What’s most troubling,” Jagoda warned, “is that both governments attempted to keep the agreement under wraps. Unlike the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord, which was made public with all annexures, this agreement was hidden from the people, and even now, we don’t know how many other agreements exist between India and Sri Lanka.”
Jagoda said that a Right to Information request made on 04 April was met with a reply from the President’s Office stating that it had no copies of the agreement—raising serious concerns about transparency, even at the highest level. “One could question whether the President has seen it because his office does not have it,” Jagoda said.
The 12-clause of agreement reportedly covers areas such as exchange and training of military personnel, defence industry collaboration, classified information protection, and military medical services, including battlefield healthcare and telemedicine.
Jagoda said the definition of “classified information” in Clause 7 was alarmingly broad. “It allows India to label virtually anything as secret. Even weapons or military assets transferred under this agreement cannot be revealed—not even after the agreement ends,” he said, citing Clause 7.3.
Clause 10 prohibits either country from taking disputes to international courts or involving third-party mediators. “It’s like asking a rabbit to negotiate with a tiger,” Jagoda quipped, drawing parallels to the complications of the 1987 accord, which eventually saw Indian peacekeeping troops refusing to leave until a change in the Indian government.
Jagoda accused the NPP-led government of hypocrisy, pointing out that the JVP, the main component of the current regime, had vehemently opposed Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987. “Now they’ve gone and signed an even more dangerous deal,” he said.
Citing Clause 12, which allows either party to withdraw with three months’ notice, the FSP called on the government to act immediately to exit the pact. “We urge the people to unite and defeat these underhanded, sovereignty-eroding deals. The FSP stands ready to lead that fight,” Jagoda said.
The police yesterday arrested a group of students, including the Convener of the Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF), Madushan Chandradith, during a protest held by the Allied Health Science Graduates’ Union in front of the Health Ministry yesterday.
The police obtained an order from Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court, earlier in the day, to prevent protesters from invading the Colombo Hospital Square and the Health Ministry.
Inspector General of Police T.M.W. Deshabandu Tennakoon is set to face formal questioning on Monday (19 May) over serious allegations of misconduct and abuse of power, parliamentary sources said yesterday.
A special Committee appointed to investigate the claims will commence formal proceedings next week, following several rounds of preliminary discussions held within the parliamentary complex in recent weeks.
The IGP has been officially notified to appear before the Committee and is expected to face the inquiry for the first time at 2:00 PM in Committee Room No. 8.
The Committee, which met again on Thursday (15) to finalise arrangements, is investigating allegations that Tennakoon misused his official powers in a manner deemed severe and improper.
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