The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has told the Colombo Magistrate’s Court that a document containing handwriting attributed to MP Namal Rajapaksa has been sent to the Government Analyst for examination in the Krrish land deal investigation.
The matter came up before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama on Friday. Rajapaksa and former Krrish company director Janaki Siriwardena were produced before the court by prison officials. Rajapaksa has been granted bail in the Krrish case but remains in remand custody in connection with other legal proceedings.
An Assistant Director representing the Commission said statements had already been recorded from several people, including the Colombo Divisional Secretary and a former Land Commissioner. Investigators also intend to record statements from officials of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) about the transfer of land at Transworks Square in Colombo Fort to the Indian company Krrish.
The Commission said the Government Analyst’s Department had asked for the original document so that it could carry out the examination. That original is held in a case file before Colombo High Court No. 7. The Commission asked the Magistrate to order the High Court Registrar to release it.
The Magistrate observed that the request had not been included in the further report the Commission had submitted, and directed it to file a properly documented application. The court ordered the Commission to report on the progress of its investigation on 20 November. The case was fixed for the same date, and Siriwardena was further remanded until then.
Background
The investigation concerns allegations of a Rs. 70 million bribe linked to the transfer of land at Transworks Square to Krrish for a proposed mixed-use development project. Rajapaksa and Siriwardena were arrested earlier and produced before court over allegations of accepting a bribe and of aiding and abetting the alleged offence. Both are suspects in the investigation, and no finding of guilt has been made.
The Commission is the state body that investigates bribery and corruption complaints and can ask a Magistrate’s Court to remand suspects while its inquiries continue. When handwriting is in dispute, investigators commonly send the original document to the Government Analyst’s Department, whose examiners compare it with known samples and report to the court. Because the original here sits in the file of a separate case, the Commission cannot collect it without a court order, which is why it applied to the Magistrate.
Magistrates usually require investigators to report regularly on progress while suspects are in remand. The Chief Magistrate’s instruction to file a documented application means the request for the original document will be considered formally before the next date.
What it means
The case concerns the handling of public land in central Colombo, and the outcome of the handwriting examination could shape what evidence is placed before the court. Until investigators complete their work and any indictment is served, the allegations remain unproven.
Readers following the case can expect the next public update on 20 November, when the Commission is due to report on its progress and Siriwardena’s remand is due to be reviewed.
