Accused in 2006 Gota’s murder case acquitted

The Colombo High Court yesterday ordered to acquit and release accused Sivalingam Aruran, who was remanded to 15 years over the case

allegedly aiding and abetting the assassination of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa when he was Defence Secretary by carrying out a suicide bomb attack near the Pittala junction in Kollupitiya in 2006.

Colombo High Court Judge Navaratne Marasinghe delivered the judgement after considering the Attorney General’s submissions that there is no other evidence to be presented before court except the voluntary statement made by the accused to the Police.

Additional Solicitor General Rohantha Abeysuriya appearing on behalf of the Attorney General informed the Court that there is no further evidence against the accused.

After considering the circumstances and the insufficient evidence against the accused,the High Court Judge ordered to acquit and release the accused from the case.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, narrowly escaped in the 2006 suicide bomb blast, when he was on his way to a meeting with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, when the attack took place in Pittala Junction in December 2006.

The Attorney General had filed indictment comprising 14 charges under the Penal Code against five accused Ponnasami Kathigesu Siwasi, Sivalingam Aruran, Padmanadan Aiyyar Sri Skandaraja Sharma, Chandrabose Selwachandran alias Michal and Wellaiyya Thayalan alias Paramadevan over encouraging and conspiring to assassinate former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

At a previous occasion, the third and fourth accused in the case were acquitted and the case is being tried without the fifth accused. President’s Counsel K.V. Thavarasa and Attorney D.Dharmaraja appeared for the defence.