Ravindra Wijegunaratne Back Before Court, Given Bail

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court today ordered the release on bail of former Navy Commander Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne in connection with the case relating to the alleged abduction of 11 youths between 2008 and 2009.

The former Navy Commander was released on two surety bails of Rs. 1 million each.

The case, filed before the Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court, concerns allegations that several individuals, including Admiral Wijegunaratne, aided and abetted former Navy Lieutenant Commander Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi, widely known as "Navy Sampath", who had been wanted under a court warrant in connection with the abduction case.

The matter was taken up before Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena.

Admiral Wijegunaratne, who had previously been named as a suspect and released on bail, was discharged from the case on January 3, 2024, following instructions issued by then Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam.

However, after considering requests made by the aggrieved parties, investigating officers reviewed the matter and re-named the former Navy Commander as a suspect in the case on June 10 this year.

Following that decision, the Fort Magistrate issued notices directing Wijegunaratne to appear before court today. In compliance with the notice, the former Navy Commander appeared before the Magistrate.

After considering the facts presented, the Magistrate ordered that he be released on bail.

The two other suspects currently out on bail in connection with the case, former Navy Lieutenant Commander Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi and Laksiri Amarasinghe, were also present in court when the case was called.

During today's proceedings, the court read out the amended charge sheets to the suspects. All accused informed court that they were not guilty of the charges levelled against them.

Following submissions made before court, Magistrate Pasan Amarasena fixed December 9 as the date to commence the trial in the case.