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Man under probe over murder of journalist in Jaffna

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Nimalarajan

A man suspected of having murdered Sri Lankan journalist Mylvaganam Nimalarajan in Jaffna over 22 years ago, is under investigation, the Northamptonshire Telegraph has reported A Metropolitan Police spokesman reportedly confirmed that a man who was arrested on February 22, 2022 remains under investigation and that police enquiries are ongoing. The man was arrested on suspicion of offences under Section 51 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001.

At the time of the arrest, the Metropolitan Police said:

“There will still be people who may have information, particularly in relation to the murder of Mr Nimalarajan, and we would urge those people to come forward and help achieve justice for Mr Nimalarajan’s family.”

Nimalarajan, a senior journalist who contributed to the BBC Tamil and Sinhala services, the Tamil daily Virakesari and Sinhala weekly Ravaya, was murdered in his Jaffna home on October 19, 2000.

Nimalarajan was shot through the window of his study where he was working on an article. The suspects then threw a grenade into the home before fleeing the premises. Following his death, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) wrote that “local journalists suspect that Nimalarajan’s reporting on vote-rigging and intimidation in Jaffna during the recent parliamentary elections may have led to his murder.”

The government aligned paramilitary group the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) are suspected of carrying out the killing.In May 2021, the Sri Lankan Attorney General’s department ordered the release of the suspects involved in the murder case. At least two other suspects were thought to have been abroad.Over 22 years have passed since Nimalarajan’s murder but no one has been held accountable for the killing.



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GMOA swings into action on Vithana’s disclosure of MPs’ salaries, etc.

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MP Vithana / Dr. Sugathadasa

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has sought an explanation from Parliament regarding how PAYE (Pay As You Earn) is applied to parliamentarians.

GMOA Secretary Dr. Prabath Sugathadasa has written to the Secretary General of Parliament, Kushani Rohanadeera, in terms of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Information was sought on 09 July, 2025, in the wake of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Kalutara district parliamentarian Jagath Vithana posting his pay sheets from January to May this year on his Facebook.

In addition to information on PAYE, the GMOA has posed a number of other questions to the Secretary General regarding the parliamentarians’ salary as well as pensions.

Parliament passed the RTI Act on 24 June, 2016, and it came into effect on 03 February, 2017. This act, introduced through the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, in 2015, is meant to promote transparency and accountability in government.

New controversy has erupted in the wake of Nawa Janatha Peramuna lodging a complaint with the CIABOC seeking an investigation into Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne abusing public property, a claim denied by the Secretary General of Parliament.

According to Vithana’s May pay sheet, his monthly allowance is Rs. 54,285, entertainment allowance Rs 1,000, telephone allowance Rs 50,000, sitting allowance Rs 5,000, office allowance Rs 100,000, fuel allowance Rs 97,428.92 and transport allowance Rs. 15,000. His take home pay is Rs 317, 760.92 after the deduction of Rs 1,200 for catering, stamp duty Rs. 25 and Advance Personal Income Tax (APIT).

Asked whether he regretted the releasing of pay sheets, lawmaker Vithana told The Island that in the run-up to the last parliamentary elections, held in November 2024, he had promised the Kalutara electorate he wouldn’t draw his salary. The MP said that however, he later felt the salary should be accepted and used in support of public welfare projects undertaken by him. “Therefore, the money was used appropriately,” he said, adding that both the government and Opposition MPs reacted with resentment. “I feel sort of isolated in Parliament. Hardly anyone talks to me,” MP Vithana said.

Dr. Sugathadasa said that having perused the pay sheets posted online, the GMOA had felt the urgent need to seek a clarification from Parliament as the lawmakers appeared to have received special status. The top GMOA official emphasised they wanted to establish the truth and used the RTI law to obtain information regarding the MPs’ salaries, pensions and other related information. “The GMOA made the request on 09 July, 2025. We are confident the Parliament will answer our queries,” Dr. Sugathadasa said.

Parliament meets only eight days a month. Attendance is not compulsory and there is no fixed time for lawmakers to attend sittings. Over the years, sittings have been suspended for lack of quorum.

The Island asked the GMOA official whether they would seek the intervention of the RTI Commission in case the Parliament declined to reveal the information sought by them. Dr. Sugathadasa said that the Executive Committee of the GMOA would decide the course of action if Parliament withheld information.

A few years ago Chamara Sampath, of Wijeya Newspapers, successfully moved the Court of Appeal against the Parliament after the latter refused to disclose names of Members of Parliament (MPs) who had handed over their respective declarations of assets and liabilities in 2018 and list of names of MPs who have handed over their Declarations from 2010 to the time he made the request (21 June, 2018).

The Court on 28 February, 2023, reaffirmed the RTI Commission’s stand that Declarations of Assets and Liabilities Law of 1975 (DALL) didn’t prevail over the Right to Information Act no. 12 of 2016 (RTI Act).

According to the Parliament website, an MP is paid Rs. 54,285, entertainment allowance Rs 1,000, driver’s allowance Rs 3,500 (only if driver is not provided by government). Fuel allowances are paid based on the distance from Parliament to the electoral district which each MP was elected and the approved market price of one litre of diesel on the first day of every month, telephone allowance Rs 50,000, transport allowance for personal staff Rs 10,000, and stamps worth Rs 350,000 issued to each MP annually.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

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Udaya alleges Prez hasn’t given up efforts to bring in outsider as AG

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Sri Lanka Educator Service Lecturers’ Trade Union yesterday (14) protested outside the Education Ministry, demanding that the government address their grievances. (Pic by Nishan S. Priyantha)

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader and former Minister Udaya Gammanpila says President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has delayed making a permanent appointment to the post of Auditor General in a bid to bring in an outsider early next year.

Addressing the media yesterday (14), Attorney-at-Law Gammanpila said that three civil society members of the Constitutional Council, who opposed the President’s move, would be completing their term in early January next year. Instead of appointing Dharmapala Gammanpila as the Auditor General, the President had given him only an extension in service so as to get rid of him at the first available opportunity and bring in his crony from the Kelaniya University.

The former lawmaker said that the success of the President’s plan depended on the appointment of pliant civil society members to the CC, ready to help advance the NPP’s agenda.

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Poaching: 24 boats, 181 Indians taken into custody so far this year

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Fishermen taken into custody

In spite of specific warnings issued by fisheries minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar to Indian poachers, trawlers are continuously crossing the Indo-Lanka maritime boundary.

Navy headquarters yesterday (14) said that so far this year they have detained 24 Indian fishing boats and taken into custody 181 fishermen for poaching in Sri Lankan waters. The arrested included seven taken off the Delft Island, Jaffna in the early hours of Sunday.

Navy headquarters spokesman said that operations were conducted taking into account the harmful impact of prohibited fishing practices such as bottom trawling resorted to by Indian poachers, on the livelihood of local fishermen.

Having observed Indian fishing boats off Delft, the Northern Naval Command deployed its craft to drive away those Indian fishing boats from island waters, off the Delft Island.

The detained boat and Indian fishermen were brought to the Kankasanthurai Harbour and handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Mailadi, Jaffna for legal proceedings.

Sailor disinfecting Indian boat (Pix courtesy Navy)

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