On My Beat: Danuna Tilakaratna dodges questioning, disappears

Danuna Tilakaratna, the Arms Dealer son-in-law of former Common Opposition candidate General (Retd) Sarath Fonseka, is not only avoiding police questioning but also suddenly has vanished somewhere.

Police are searching for him high and low.

On the 1st of February Danuna Tilakaratne was asked to be present for questioning by the Police. Suddenly on that day he got himself admitted at a private hospital in Narahenpita.

When Asian Tribune’s Colombo Correspondent went to that hospital to ascertain whether he was actually in the hospital. Our investigation drew blank.

Now it has come to light he got himself admitted in the hospital on that day and then got him discharged on the same day.

Danuna also filed an anticipatory bail application on 1st February, through his lawyers before Lanka Jayaratne, Colombo Fort Magistrate and Additional District Judge.

The Court issued notice to the Criminal Investigation Department to appear in the courts on February 8. Accordingly it is learnt that the CID have filed their response in the courts yesterday.

Asian Tribune learnt that the police have informed the courts that Danuna has to be charged under the Government Property Act – under which charges are non-bailable.
The judge has given February 10 as the date for the case to be heard.

Furthermore, 25 suspects remanded at the Gokeralla police statdion have been brought to Colombo under Police custody yesterday under the Detention Order signed by the Secretary to the Defence under Emergency regulation.

Earlier the 25 suspected persons were arrested on January 25, when they were travelling in a bus to an undisclosed destination.

Gokeralla Police who arrested them, kept them under detention. When questioned it was found that 13 of them were retired army men and those resigned from the Army.

On further questioning, they told the police that they were kept as standby, awaiting orders from Retired Colonel Sujit Jeyasekera, an aide of the Retired General Sarath Fonseka, a former brigade commandant of the Commando Forces of the Sri Lanka Army, who now has prematurely retired from the Army.

In the meantime Major General Asoka Thoradeniya continues to hold on to his Chairmanship of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. It is learnt Sri Lanka Army is not happy with concerned authorities for allowing him to continue as the Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.

He retired from active Army service in 2008 and he was hand-picked by Sarath Fonseka when he was the Army Commander to be the Master General of Ordinance.

Already Police has once summoned him for questioning regarding the technical evaluation he conducted regarding those military hardware that has been brought into the country through Danuna Tilakaratne.

Also in 1994, he was questioned along with General (Retired) Cecil Waidyaratne and Sarath Fonseka on the alleged conspiracy to prevent Chandrika Kumaratunga taking over the Presidency of Sri Lanka, in case she wins it.

That time General (Retired) Cecil Waidyaratne was Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Thailand. He was asked to be a part of a plot along with Sarath Fonseka as well as Thoradeniya and others to block Chandrika Kumaratunga assuming the Presidency of Sri Lanka.

Also in other development Asian Tribune learnt that Retired Major General G.A. Chandrasri , the present Governor of the Northern Province is to be summoned for questioning soon by the police in his role during the Presidential election.

Asian Tribune learnt that all the members of his family worked openly for Sarath Fonseka in the last Presidential election.

According to a police source they are looking for Ruwan Weerakoon, a journalist and the owner of the SMS news service in Sri Lanka.

The police sources said that they are looking for questioning.

- Asian Tribune -