Lasantha’s murder probe to speed up

The murder investigation of Lasantha Wickrematunge, the founder editor of the Sunday Leader is to be completed in the coming weeks, after several snags that delayed the process.

The investigation was handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) last week by the Police Department.

According to the information currently available with the authorities, one murder suspect had mysteriously died in jail while the other has been released on bail.

Killed on 8 January 2009 in board day light in close proximity to the Sunday Leader editorial located within a high security zone in Ratmalana, there had been no justice for the murdered journalist, despite strong pressure from the media community and rights defenders to bring the culprits to justice.

Wickrematunge’s 58th birth anniversary falls on Tuesday (5).