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Which Kathriarachchi sat the exam?
A former PA Deputy Minister is being investigated for allegedly getting an impostor to sit for him at the recent A/Level examination so that he could enter Law College, an official said.

According to investigations, the ex-PA deputy Minister, Chandana Kathriarachchi, had informed the Panadura High Court that he was not able to attend the hearing on June 27 as he was sitting the A/L examination. Mr. Kathriarachchi is one of the five suspects in a murder case.

But an inquiry by the examination department has revealed that the ex-deputy minister had not taken up the A/L exam from the particular hall as indicated to courts. Examinations Commissioner Anura Edirisinghe said that acting on a complaint an officer accompanied by the Badulla Zonal Education Director had visited the examination centre off Mahiyanganaya where they found a person by the name of Chandana Kathriarachchi, a resident of Pannipitiya, sitting the examination.

However, the ex-deputy minister who claimed to be sitting the examination from the same hall at Orubendiwela Maha Vidyalaya in Mahiyanganaya did not sit the examination from the centre.

Mr. Edirisinghe said they would be first calling the Kathriarachchi who sat the examination at the Mahiyangana centre for the investigation.

The former deputy minister’s lawyer had presented an affidavit with a motion two weeks prior to a June 27th hearing at the Panadura High Court to excuse Mr. Kathriarachchi from being present there, stating that he had to be present at the Orubadiwela Maha Vidyalaya in Arawatte, Mahiyangana for this year’s A/L examination. In it, he had cited his A/L index number as 9055681 and stated that he was sitting for the exam to fulfil the requirements for Law College entrance.

The person who sat the examination at the Mahiyangana centre was identified as Chandana Pushpakumara Kathriarachchi, born in 1960 and was equipped with a brand new National Identity card. His address was listed as 229/1, School Road, Rathmaldeniya, Arawwala, Pannipitiya. The perusal of his documentation at the preliminary investigation has not shown any discrepancies.

The Pannipitiya Kathriarachchi claimed that he was re-sitting the exam at this late stage to receive a promotion in his present job. At the June 27 hearing, the affidavit was questioned by a Senior State Counsel. He pointed out that the name and address in the charge sheet against Mr. Kathriarachchi differed from the same information now presented in the affidavit. The state counsel asked the judge to issue a warrant for Mr. Kathriarachchi’s arrest, but this was turned down.

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