Robbery at residence of former CDS: Navy personnel arrested
The Mahabage Police received a complaint that a replica of a gold-plated non-functional firearm had been stolen by a Navy personnel deployed for security at the premises, from the home of former Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) Admiral Ravindra Wijegunawardena at Elpitiwala, Ragama.
The complaint had been made by a Naval personnel deployed at Admiral Wijegunawardena’s house for security.
Making the complaint he had told Police that a Navy personnel who had been on duty at the Admiral’s house, providing protection, had stolen this memento firearm on the night of March 10.
The Navy personnel had stolen this firearm which had been on display in the sitting room of the house, taken it to a night club located in Katunayake by intimidating a group of security officers by pointing the weapon at them.
The Police said that the Navy personnel who were on security duty at the Admiral’s house had gone to a night club together with another person in a vehicle and got into an argument and a fight there.
The Navy personnel who later returned to the Admiral’s house had taken the firearm and threatened the security officers of the night club. The security officers of the night club had assaulted the Navy personnel who was injured in a broken bottle attack.
According to Police, the Navy personnel had then got into a vehicle with the other person who had accompanied him and when attempting to turn on to the access road to the Ja-Ela Entrance to the Expressway, met with an accident on March 11 morning.
The Police had admitted the injured Navy personnel and the other person to the Ragama hospital. The firearm which was found in the vehicle was taken into Police custody.
A top Police officer said that a complaint had been received by the Mahabage Police on Wednesday.
Subsequent to the motor vehicle accident, the Police had arrested the Navy personnel who was still receiving treatment at the Ragama Hospital.
Navy personnel in a complaint to the Police about the theft of the weapon said that the firearm stolen by the Navy personnel had been presented to Admiral Ravindra Wijegunawardena as a souvenir by then Pakistan Army Commander Subhahir Mohammad in 2019.