No threats on former Mullaitivu Magistrate – CID

Resignation, departure pre-planned :
Leave applied to go to India on Sept. 25:
Ticket taken from a Kurunegala sales representative:
Wife did not know that he was going abroad:
Ticket booked to return to Sri Lanka via Sharjah, Nairobi and Delhi on October 12:
Tickets purchased through an American phone number:

It has been confirmed that there was no threat to life or any other threat to the former Mullaitivu District Judge and Magistrate T. Saravanaraja and his sudden departure abroad was a pre-planned one.

This is according to the report submitted by the Digital Forensic Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to the government. The report states that while the judge applied for leave to travel to India on September 25, it was approved and he had suddenly departed to another country on September 24. Investigations are being carried out whether an organised group was behind this.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe had instructed to conduct a full investigation into the resignation of Saravanaraja citing death threats.

The Magistrate had never complained to the Police or the Judicial Services Commission that he had threats and on September 23 he sent his letter of resignation to the Judicial Services Commission and the Magistrate went abroad on September 24.

There was also a case in the Court of Appeal where the Magistrate was named as a respondent.

Statements have been recorded from the District Judge’s wife, Mullaitivu Additional Magistrate D.Pradeepan, Mullaitivu SSP D.U.P. Amaratunga, Acting Headquarters Police Inspector W.G.H.N.K Thilakaratne, the judge’s personal security officer constable K.S.Preman, private security constable K. Sivakanthan, Mullaitivu Magistrate Police Constable M. Muthisan, Mullaitivu Police Constables Samarakoon and Sandaruwan, Mullaitivu Court Registrar B. Saravanaraj, the Judge’s Court Clerk P. Suchikan, Fiscal S. Sivakumar, Mullaitivu Court official J. Linton Raja, but all of them have said that the District Judge had never mentioned that there were any threats against him.

According to the report, Mullaitivu’s former District Judge Saravanaraja had been appointed as Mullaitivu Magistrate on April 5, 2021 and the Mullaitivu Police Station has provided all necessary security to him. No safety or life threatening issue has been raised at any time. According to the report, the investigation revealed that the judge had left for Dubai on September 24.

For that purpose, Air Arabia airline tickets have been purchased from a Kurunegala sales representative and all the related activities have been done through an American phone number.

A Kenyan telephone number had been provided to the ticket sales agent to call back if the given telephone number is not operational.

Payment for air tickets has been made from Kalmunai area. The ticket was obtained to return to Sri Lanka on October 12 via Sharjah, Nairobi and Delhi. According to the information obtained from the airline, it has been confirmed that the Magistrate has not used the air ticket to go to Nairobi after Sharjah.

According to these facts, it has been revealed that the Magistrate’s trip abroad has been pre-planned. Nairobi was listed as his destination on his departure document. Using the official passport after resigning from the service too raises suspicion. Mullaitivu SSP D.U.P.Amaratunga has in a statement said that since last January, he has been closely associated with the judge while on duty and personally and at no time has he mentioned that there are any problems related to the judges’ security.

Police Inspector Thilakaratne has given a statement that two officers with arms were deployed for the personal protection of the Magistrate and four officers were deployed daily for the security of the official residence including 12 hour shifts.

The Judge’s personal security officer, Police Constable Preman has stated that the Judge had never said the security is not adequate and that the judge has never mentioned to him that there is a threat to life.

It has been mentioned that the District Judge sold his car a week before going abroad and went abroad on September 23. Mullaitivu Magistrate’s Court Registrar has stated in a statement that he has been working in Mullativu Court since January this year and the judge never informed him that there was a death threat.

It has been stated that Saravanaraj applied for foreign leave from September 25 to October 1 by sending an application to visit India on August 30 and the Judicial Service Commission had sent a fax on September 21 approving the foreign leave.

The wife of the District Judge has stated that her husband was under severe stress as a Magistrate and he mentioned about the lack of security about two years ago. However, she has mentioned that she has not been told about such security issues recently.

She has said that her husband left at around 2 am on September 23, and she did not know that he was going abroad.

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