Tiran’s case on July 22

by Manjula Fernando

The case filed in the Supreme Court by the police Special Investigations Unit (SIU) against former parliamentarian and RADA Chairman Tiran Alles and others will be taken up on July 22.

In this case, the SIU sleuths are investigating the Rs. 169 million missing Treasury allocations for tsunami reconstruction in LTTE controlled areas in 2006. The SIU sleuths said the funds may have ended up in LTTE coffers with the connivance of a middleman.

Four suspects including the then Finance and Administration Director of RADA Jayantha Dias Samarasinghe are still in remand in connection with the case and former RADA Chief Operations Officer Dr. Saliya Wickremasuriya was released on bail.

The SIU sleuths had arrested six suspects but two were released on bail earlier. Among the four suspects in custody are Shanthikumar Gajankumar, a director of one of the two construction companies which received funds from RADA, Kandasami Sodiraja and Ponmudi Seeharan Sudan.

The Supreme Court had fixed July 27 and 28 to hear the FR petition filed by businessman Alles seeking an interim order preventing his arrest by the investigating sleuths. The FR case was filed at a time the officers had sought the Attorney General’s advice to take him for questioning to expedite investigations.

The businessman had said that the investigation was politically motivated to punish its opponents. Alles has cited the IGP, Director of the Special Investigations Unit SP Mewan Silva, OIC of the SIU M.D.D.P. Gunathilake, Police Media Spokesman ASP Ruwan Gunasekera and the Attorney General as respondents.

Police sources said they were going ahead with the investigations and are currently reviewing the Auditor General’s reports and cross checking housing unit constructions by the particular RADA project – Jaya Lanka. The Supreme Court is expected to give a ruling if his arrest can be permitted or not on July 28.