Abduction of 11 youth: Witness says CID changed statement

When the case where former navy spokesman D.K.P. Dissanayake was an accused was taken up for hearing before the Fort Magistrate Court, a key witness the CID had changed several parts of his initial statement and requested that he be allowed to made a personal statement in Court.

Mr. Dissanayake and five others were arrested on charges of abduction and disappearance of 11 youth in 2008 and 2009. The CID informed Court that the 11 youth who were abducted by unidentified groups in Colombo and the surrounding areas, had been taken to underground detention cells at a navy camp in Trincomalee which was supervised by a Navy Lieutenant Commander.

Counsel Udaya Gammanpila appearing for the witness informed Court that the CID had changed the facts in his client’s first statement recorded in 2015.

Meanwhile, Gang-Robbery Unit OIC Nishantha Silva informed Court that the witness had provided key pieces of information to the investigation and said the initial statement had not been changed in any way.

The CID arrested Mr. Dissanayake while he was at the Sri Lanka Navy base in Welisara following an investigation into the incident earlier this year.

Colombo Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne re-remanded the suspects till January 2, 2018.

(Source: Daily Mirror – By Yoshitha Perera)