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The Government is to strip the civic rights of those responsible for falsely implicating or involving others in murders or related investigations.

Their conduct will be probed by a Special Presidential Commission to be appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Its tasks will cover those serving state investigative agencies such as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) and other units. Also to be probed will be civilians who have played a role.

When the SPC findings are concluded, a resolution will be moved in Parliament for those involved to be stripped of their rights. Cabinet approval has been given for the appointment of the SPC.

Ahead of the SPC probe, those who conduct criminal probes – the Police Department’s coveted CID – have themselves now come under a probe.

It was sparked off by events involving the hurried departure from Sri Lanka of Chief Inspector Nishantha de Silva, head of the organised crimes division of the CID. He left for Switzerland last Sunday with his family and the government has learned he is seeking asylum there.

Among the high-profile cases Chief Inspector de Silva has been handling was the killing of The Sunday Leader Editor, Lasantha Wickremetunga, journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda and the abduction and torture of Keith Noyahr, the Associate Editor of The Nation newspaper.

In a serious turn of events, in at least one of these cases, it has come to light that alleged efforts have been made to implicate a onetime senior official who had no link to the incident.

Chief Inspector de Silva functioned directly under CID Director, Shani Abeysekera. He has since been transferred as Personal Assistant (PA) to the DIG of the South.

The probe extends to other areas including allegations that matters related to the investigation have been discussed at a Colombo hotel with those not officially associated with the CID. Also allegedly linked to the move is an attorney turned diplomat.

Another probe relates to the doctoring of a purported news briefing by the spokesperson of the US Department of State.

The widely circulated video clip is said to have been put together in Colombo with the help of parties abroad, Police suspect. It was part of a malicious campaign against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa when he was presidential candidate and falsely claimed he was still a citizen of the United States.

Rs. 40 million gone abegging

A forty-million-rupee campaign contribution by a former VVIP’s son-in-law for a candidate who did not win has become the talking point in the dovecotes of power.

A top boss was heard whispering this to a friend during a takeover ceremony inside an old grey-walled building which holds the purse strings of the State.

Gajaba Regiment’s senior officer to be Chief of National Intelligence

Retired Major General Jagath de Alwis is to be recalled to service and appointed as the new Chief of National Intelligence (CNI).   The Gajaba regiment’s former senior officer has served in several key positions including Security Forces Commander, Jaffna. He was Commander of the President’s Guard and served a stint as Sri Lanka’s Deputy Ambassador to Israel.

The move comes amid speculation that another Gajaba Regiment senior officer, a Major General, will be brought back from retirement for a top position in the security establishment. He is to be promoted to the rank of a General ahead of the appointment.

Former CJ likely to be Northern Governor

The government wants to offer the post of Northern Province Governor Kanakasabapathy Sripavan, a former Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.

He has served as Deputy Solicitor General, Judge and President of the Court of Appeal, Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court and was the 44th Chief Justice.

Two other names, a government source said, are on hand but the “former CJ is our first choice.”

JVP no longer the apple of the eye for Pettah hawkers

Pettah hawkers are well known for their skills in coming up with catchy slogans to attract customers.

In the 1970s, when the transistor radio with a cassette player hit Sri Lankan markets, it was called two-in-one and the buffel set with a radio, a cassette player and a record player was called three-in-one.

But our hawkers shouted ‘two-in-one, two-in-one’ and ‘three-in-one, three-in-one’ to draw customers’ attention to the bras and men’s underwear they were selling.

The latest catchy slogan is ‘JVP, JVP’. The witty hawkers selling apples were rubbing salt into the JVP’s presidential election wound.

Asked to explain, they said JVP got ‘seeyata thunak’ or three percent at the November 16 presidential election. In Sinhala seeyata also means three for one hundred. In this case, three apples for one hundred rupees.

The hawkers, very much from the working class, do not seem to be looking at the JVP as the apple of their eye anymore.

Bandula conducts economics class for journalists

The sweeping tax concessions announced by the government this week resulted in extra work for newly appointed Co-Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Bandula Gunawardena.

A day after holding the Cabinet media briefing where he explained the new tax concessions, Mr Gunawardena held another media conference to essentially explain the same thing.

The reason? A journalist who was at the first media briefing had called him to say he needed further clarification on how the people would benefit from the tax cuts. The journalist had told the Minister that many found what he said at the previous day’s briefing had been hard to grasp as he had used “complicated economic terms.”

One must remember that the Minister was after all, a renowned economics teacher before trying his hand at politics. Accordingly, he quickly organised a special media briefing where he proceeded to ‘teach’ the journalists how the tax concessions worked, just as if he were teaching one of his economics classes.

 The vanquished did not even open the door

At one time they were colleagues of the top body that takes decisions and guides the destiny of the country.

Elections came and one became a front runner. The other was ‘backing him’ in the cooler areas.

The results are now history. Just this week, the ‘backer’ and his better half chose to visit the vanquished.

They went to his apartment and knocked on the door, but the man did not open the door. The duo had to return in disappointment.

The colleague told a colleague he knew no reason why he should have
been shunned. More so, since he was aware that the vanquished was inside taking calls.