News

Whereabouts of NTJ bomber Hastun’s wife still a mystery

Published

6 years ago

2020/08/5

Sahan Weerasooriya

Outgoing HR Chief says missing girl’s mother never mentioned Zahran

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) said Rajaratnam Kavitha, mother of P. Pulasthini (24) wife of Thowheed Jamaat suicide bomber Atchchi Muhammadu Hastun hadn’t informed the HRCSL Office in Batticaloa of Zahran Hashim’s involvement in the disappearance of her daughter.

Outgoing HRCSL Chairperson Dr. Deepika Udagama told The Island that there hadn’t been any reference to Zahran when Kavitha visited the Regional Office on April 17, 2019, four days before the Easter attacks.

Dr. Udagama was responding to The Island query whether the Regional Office informed Colombo of receiving a complaint as regards the missing young woman. The Island raised the issue with Dr. Udagama in the wake of Kavitha‘s testimony before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (P CoI) in late last month.

Kavitha said that she visited the HRCSL Regional Office in Batticaloa after the Kaluwanchikudy and Kattankudy Police stations declined to accept her complaints. Kavitha said: I informed an officer there that I had found out my daughter was with Zahran. At that moment he said he knew Zahran and that there was nothing to be scared of since Zahran was a normal person.” Kavitha also quoted the HRCSL official as having said there was no need to lodge a complaint and that he would look into the matter.

The PCoI was told that Pulasthini fled to India following the blast. Intelligence services are in the process of verifying controversial testimony before the PCoI. However, authorities are yet to reach a conclusion on Pulasthini’s whereabouts against the backdrop of initial reports she perished in

Sainthamaruthu blast that claimed the lives of several Thowheed Jamaat cadres.

Q: Did HRCSL receive a complaint in this regard or any information regarding Kavitha’s visit to HRCSL Regional Office?

A: We obtained a detailed report on the matter from our Batticaloa Regional Office. It also includes the log entry relating to the visit of Ms. Kavitha to the Regional Office on 17 April, 2020. According to our records, one Ms. Kavitha of Mankadu, Cettipalayam had visited our Batticaloa Regional Office on 17 April, 2019 accompanied by a male. Her complaint was that her daughter P. Pulasthini (age 24) had gone away with a young man from the Muslim community and had married him in 2015, and that her whereabouts were not known. She had appealed to the HRCSL to assist in finding her. As the matter was of a private nature, our officer had informed Ms. Kavitha that it did not fall within the HRCSL’s statutory mandate. Ms. Kavitha had been advised to seek the assistance of the police to find her daughter. At that point the mother had not informed of any attempts to complain to the police or of any inaction on the part of the police. If that were the case the complaint would have been registered.

In her complaint Ms. Kavitha had stated that one Razik from a Muslim organization was having influence over her daughter’s family life. There had been no mention of a Zahran. In fact, as a gesture of assistance our officer had called a telephone number provided by Ms. Kavitha which was said to be that of Razik. He had denied knowledge of Pulasthini’s whereabouts and had mentioned that the parents had complained to Maligawatta police station about the matter and that the police including CID had questioned him in that regard. As there was nothing out of the ordinary about the complaint, the HRCSL Colombo had not been informed. That is the regular procedure.

Q: Did PCoI ask HRCSL personnel to appear before it? And if not, will you be inquiring into this (in the wake of PCoI revelation.

A: No, we have not been summoned by the PCoI. The records from our Batticaloa office, in our opinion, do not give rise to any issue that requires further investigation.

Q: Did HRCSL inquire into Easter Sunday tragedy or receive complaints as regards the government’s failure to thwart the carnage?

A: Even in the absence of a complaint, the HRCSL could investigate this matter on its own initiative (per S.14 of HRCSL Act, No 21 of 1996). However, we are aware that the same issue is being canvassed before the Supreme Court via FR petition by at least one aggrieved party. When a matter is canvassed before the Supreme Court in a FR application, the Commission does not conduct a parallel inquiry. The decision of the SC is binding on all parties.

Pulasthini’s husband carried out the attack on St. Sebastian church, Katuwapitiya where over 100 people perished.

Dr. Udagama confirmed the announcement made by the Constitutional Council on Monday (3) regarding her decision to quit the post. Head of Department of Law Faculty of University of Peradeniya, Dr. Udagama received the appointment in Oct 2015.

The Constitutional Council said that Dr. Udagama tendered her resignation from the post of chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka with effect from September 2020.

The CC Chairman informed the Constitutional Council that the Human Rights Commission was rated as one of the best in the world and that he would like to convey the appreciation to its Chairman Dr Udagama and the members of the commission for the exceptional achievement.

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News

Consumers bearing 22% tax burden despite 18% VAT claim: Dr. Harsha de Silva

Published

3 hours ago

2026/06/20

Thilina Walpola

Dr. Harsha

Dr. Harsha points out masses are burdened with cascading taxes

While online casinos and betting roam free without being taxed

Opposition MP Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday alleged that the actual tax burden on consumers was closer to 22 percent, despite the Government’s claim that Value Added Tax (VAT) stood at 18 percent, due to the cascading impact of the Social Security Contribution Levy (SSCL).

Speaking to the media, Dr. de Silva said the SSCL was imposed at several stages of the supply chain, including manufacturing, distribution, logistics and retail, with the additional costs ultimately being passed on to consumers.

He also criticised the Government over what he described as a delay in bringing online casinos and betting applications under the tax framework, claiming that such operators continued to earn substantial revenues without contributing taxes.

Dr. de Silva said he would closely monitor the June 30 deadline set by the Government for bringing these businesses into the tax net, and questioned the reasons behind the delay.

The Opposition MP further argued that the country’s existing tax policies had placed an unfair burden on consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while allowing certain sectors to remain outside the tax system.

News

Creditor not yet paid

Published

3 hours ago

2026/06/20

Thilina Walpola

Apropos ‘Creditor receives USD 2.5 mn as Lankan public bears loss from theft of Treasury funds’, government sources told The Island that the payment hadn’t been made yet. Other sources, familiar with the issue at hand, said that regardless of the payments made to the tune of USD 2.5 mn to fake foreign accounts, Sri Lanka would have to settle the loans within a stipulated period or would be in default, though the due date could be altered through negotiations.

Sources explained that relevant parliamentary procedures had to be followed to make fresh payments.

News

Police launch manhunt for suspect software engineer after finding body of girlfriend in abandoned car

Published

3 hours ago

2026/06/20

Thilina Walpola

Police have launched a manhunt for a software engineer suspected of abandoning the body of his girlfriend inside a parked car near Teldeniya Hospital.

The deceased was identified as Shamya Darshani, 34, a physiotherapist attached to the Ampara District General Hospital.

Police said that the suspect, a resident of Gannoruwa, Kandy, had allegedly transported the woman’s body in a vehicle, left it parked near the hospital and fled. Police have appealed to the public for information leading to his arrest.

The investigation began after the victim’s brother, a resident of Kota Wewa, Thalawa, lodged a complaint with the Nuwara Eliya Police, on June 17, reporting that his sister, who had been staying at an apartment complex in Nuwara Eliya, had informed him that she had not eaten for several days.

Acting on the complaint, police searched the apartment but found it vacant. However, CCTV footage reportedly showed the suspect arriving at the apartment around 9.50 p.m., on June 16, and remaining there for about 40 minutes. The footage later showed him carrying the unconscious woman from the premises, at about 10.30 p.m. before driving away.

While Nuwara Eliya Police were investigating the disappearance, the Officer-in-Charge of Teldeniya Police received an anonymous telephone call stating that a woman’s body was inside a car, parked near the Teldeniya Hospital.

Police officers who inspected the locked vehicle found the body lying on the front passenger seat, covered with a black cloth. The vehicle was subsequently opened and the body recovered.

Further inquiries confirmed that the deceased was the woman reported missing from Nuwara Eliya.

Police investigations have revealed that the victim and the suspect had been in a relationship for about eight months. Investigators suspect that the woman had borrowed nearly Rs. 15 million from a bank and several individuals and handed the money to the suspect with plans to migrate to Canada together.

According to police, the victim had been under severe mental stress after creditors demanded repayment and the planned migration failed to materialise. She had reportedly moved into the Nuwara Eliya apartment on June 3.

Investigators said she had informed her brother that she had not eaten for three days and had also contacted a psychiatrist at the Ampara District General Hospital seeking assistance for mental distress. She had been advised to seek immediate treatment at the nearest hospital.

Her mobile phone had reportedly been switched off after 4 p.m. on June 16, prompting her brother to lodge a complaint with police.

Police also revealed that the vehicle used to transport the body belongs to another woman from the Ampara area who is also alleged to have been in a relationship with the suspect.

An open verdict was returned following the post-mortem examination, with authorities stating that the exact cause and manner of death have yet to be determined.

Further investigations are being conducted under the direct supervision of the Senior Superintendent of Police in charge of the Nuwara Eliya Division.

by Norman Palihawadane and S.K. Samaranayake