මුලින් කෝටි 50ක් ඉල්ලා පසුව කෝටි 12ට බස්සලා රඛිත හා චරිත් ඇතුළු 3ක් ජූලි 3දා තෙක් රිමාන්ඩ් සී.අයි.ඩී.යේ සිටියදී හරක් කටාගෙන් හැමෝම දොළ පිදේනි අරන් මෙරට ප්රධානතම පෙළේ මත්ද්රව්ය ජාවාරම්කරු වූ නදුන් චින්තක නොහොත් හරක් කටා නමැත්තාගෙන් රුපියල් ලක්ෂ 5000 ක අල්ලස් මුදලක් ඉල්ලා ඉන්…
Initially demanding Rs. 50 million, then reducing it to Rs. 12 million, Rakhita and Charith, along with 3 others, were remanded until July 3rd by the CID. While they were all in the custody of Harak Kata, they took steps to question the three suspects including lawyer Rakhita Rajapaksa, the son of former Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa, and Samagi Jana Balawegaya Horana organizer Charith Abeysinghe, who were arrested by the Bribery Commission on charges of demanding a bribe of Rs. 5,000 from Nadun Chinthaka, alias Harak Kata, a major drug trafficker in the country, and receiving Rs. 1,200 as an advance. The three suspects were arrested during an investigation conducted following a complaint filed by Madhuwanthi, the wife of Nadun Chinthaka Wickramaratne alias Harak Kata, who is said to be the country's top drug trafficker, to the Commission for the Investigation of Bribery or Corruption in 2023. The Commission for the Investigation of Bribery says that the other suspect arrested is Aruna Sri Chathuranga, a former director of the Civil Aviation Authority. The three suspects were arrested by officers of the Bribery Commission's Raid Division who went to their homes yesterday (25) morning. The charges against the three suspects are as follows. The relevant bribe money was obtained from Harak Kata's wife on the pretext of preventing the murder of a drug trafficker named Harak Kata, who was in the custody of the Criminal Investigation Department under the Terrorism Act, providing him with life protection, removing the detention order from custody and transferring him to another prison instead of Boossa Prison, and releasing him from all charges against him. According to the investigating officers, in 2023, the suspects initially demanded a bribe of Rs. 5000 from Harak Kata's wife, Madhuwanthi. At that time, they discussed with this woman, who was staying in Dubai, and demanded the relevant bribe money. However, due to her refusal to pay the amount, the amount was reduced to Rs. 2000. Finally, the suspects are accused of having demanded Rs. 12000 and obtained it from Harak Kata's wife. Later, Harak Kata's wife complained to the Bribery Commission about this. No proper investigation was conducted in this regard during the previous government. In 2023, a group of drug traffickers named Harak Kata and Kudu Salindu were arrested in Madagaskara. There, Harak Kata and Kudu Salindu were brought to Sri Lanka. Harak Kata was detained and questioned at the Criminal Investigation Department under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Sources said that Rakhita Rajapaksa appeared on behalf of Harak Kata's exchange activities. While Harak Kata was detained at the Criminal Investigation Department, it was alleged that both high-ranking and lower-ranking officers there had received crores of rupees from him. At that time, it was alleged that Harak Kata had received crores of rupees from him even for the funerals of the family members of some high-ranking police officers in the CID. While detained at the CID, a group of officers there had assisted Harak Kata in his attempt to escape, and it was later revealed that crores of rupees were received from him for that purpose. It has now been revealed that Harak Kata also provided valuable items including mobile phones and laptops to certain officers while he was in the custody of the CID. Several more people are scheduled to be arrested in the future in connection with the bribery incident from Harak Kata. Meanwhile, an audio recording of a telephone conversation allegedly exchanged between Nadun Chinthaka, otherwise known as Harak Kata's wife, and Rakhitha Rajapaksa and Charith Abeysinghe was also being circulated on social media yesterday. The Bribery Commission is conducting further investigations. Hemantha Randunu and A.J.A. Abeynayake