Former Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in charge of Mount Lavinia area Hemantha Adhikari has volunteered to make a statement regarding the murder of the editor of The Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge.
When the case was called before the Mount Lavinia Magistrate Court on Friday, the CID informed the court that Hemantha Adhikari, who held the then investigations into the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge, had consented to make a statement regarding the murder.
Mt Lavinia Chief Magistrate Mohammad Sahabdeen ordered the CID to produce the former SSP Hemantha Adhikari at 1 pm on 21st February in court.
The CID has further stated that investigations have revealed that Kalubowila Judicial Medical officer (JMO) Dr. Sunil Kumara, who held the first post-mortem examination of Lasantha Wickrematunge at the time of the murder, was a relative of the arrested former senior DIG Prasanna Nanayakkara.
Kalubowila JMO Dr. Sunil Kumara who issued Lasantha’s autopsy report said that the cause of death was due to gunshot wounds to the head. However, the JMO report contradicts with the Government Analyst’s report, and also with the medical report of Professor Mohan Silva who performed the emergency operation on Wickrematunge that there were no traces of any gunshot injuries. It has been reported that the journalist died of stab injuries.
The CID had also found that the former JMO and senior DIG Nanayakkara had exchanged telephone conversations at the time and suspects that the cause of death was falsified by the JBO due to his relationship to the officer.
Former OIC Sugathapala and the Senior DIG Prasanna Nanayakkara have agreed to testify as state witnesses in the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge, the CID said.
The counsel repressing former Mt. Lavinia Police Crimes OIC, SI Tissa Sugathapala noted to the court that the information regarding the journalist’s murder was uncovered due to the information disclosed by his client.
The Magistrate ordered the prison officials to provide security to former Senior DIG Prasanna Nanayakkara and former Sub Inspector Sugathapala and postponed the case to March 02.
