Court told Kapila Chandrasena was deeply unhappy over return to prison

Former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena was deeply unhappy about returning to prison after a bail surety issue, Fort Magistrate’s Court was told today (May 12).

Former Sri Lankan cricketer Aravinda de Silva, a relative of Chandrasena, gave this evidence during the magisterial inquiry into the suspicious death of Kapila Chandrasena.

The Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) today reported facts for the first time to the Fort Magistrate’s Court regarding the investigation into Chandrasena’s death.

Chandrasena was found dead on May 08, 2026, at a residence bearing No. 37 on Pedris Road in Kollupitiya, a day after the Colombo Magistrate’s Court issued an order to arrest and produce him before court over an alleged bail violation.

Police earlier said the death was suspected to be a suicide, while investigations were continuing.

The arrest order was issued on May 07, 2026 by Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodharagama after considering a request made by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).

CIABOC had requested the court to revoke the bail granted to Chandrasena and remand him until the conclusion of the trial, alleging that he had violated his bail conditions and breached the trust placed in him by the court by presenting two unsuitable sureties.

Chandrasena was released on bail by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court on May 05, 2026.

He was earlier arrested on March 12, 2026, in connection with an investigation into the alleged acceptance of a US$ 2 million bribe during the purchase of Airbus aircraft for SriLankan Airlines in 2013.

When the magisterial inquiry was taken up today, officers informed the court that the investigation into Chandrasena’s death had now been handed over to the CCD.

The investigating officers submitted a further report on the investigations carried out so far, along with two annexures related to the post-mortem examination.

They also said several types of medicine taken into custody during the investigation at the crime scene, as well as two blood samples of the deceased, would be submitted to court as case productions.

At this point, Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena asked whether the cloth tied around the deceased’s neck had been sent to the Government Analyst.

The investigating officers said it had also been named as a case production and was due to be sent to the Government Analyst today.

The Magistrate then asked whether there was any damage to the upper surface of the door from which Chandrasena is suspected to have hanged himself.

The officers replied that no such damage was observed, but several fibre samples were taken when that surface was examined.

The officers also said they had still been unable to unlock Chandrasena’s iPhone 16 Pro Max, as it is a highly secure phone.

They said the phone had a facial recognition security system and that an attempt was made to unlock it by bringing it close to the face of the deceased’s body, but the attempt was unsuccessful.

The investigating officers then requested the court to issue an order allowing the phone to be sent to its parent company or another suitable institution to have it unlocked.

The first person to give evidence at the inquiry was Priyangi Anushka Wijenayake, the elder sister of Chandrasena’s wife, Priyanka Niyomali Wijenayake.

“Your Honour, my sister and her husband were separated. My younger sister has been living in Australia with their two children since around the end of last year. Kapila was not a frequent visitor to our house. Over about 10 years, he had come to our house only around four times.

As I remember, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, Kapila obtained bail and came directly to our house. He said, ‘Hello Anushka’ to me. When I asked whether he had eaten, he said no, so I gave him food. After giving him two glasses of watermelon juice and a glass of water, I gave him a packet of lamprais to eat. Later, I also made him a milk coffee. After that, he went home.

Then, the next day at around 4:00 PM, he came to our house again by car. He gave me the key to his car and asked me to tell the driver to take it to his house and leave it there. Aravinda was not at home at that time. Later, he also came home. Then Aravinda, I, and a few people who had come to stand bail went to meet the lawyer.

When we left, Kapila was seated on a chair on the first floor of our house. When we returned home at around 10:00 PM, Kapila came downstairs from the upper floor. Kapila did not eat dinner. At around 11:00 PM, when I was getting ready to go to sleep with my son, Aravinda told me to prepare a room for Kapila to stay in. I asked a domestic worker to prepare my elder son’s room on the first floor.

The next morning at around 7:00 AM, my husband said the lawyer had arrived and asked me to make tea. My husband had called Kapila, but he had not answered. There was no response even after knocking on the door. Later, I went upstairs with a lawyer named Priyantha and tried to open the door. Since it did not open, I took a master key from another place in the house and opened the door.

Although I opened the lock, the lawyer entered the room first. I only stepped one foot inside the door. There was no one on the bed. A chair in the room had been turned towards the bathroom. The lawyer said, ‘Let’s go outside.’”

Thereafter, Aravinda de Silva, the husband of the sister of Chandrasena’s wife, gave evidence at the death inquiry.

“On the day bail was granted, Kapila called me and said, ‘Speak to the lawyer and arrange money for bail.’ He also said, ‘There is one surety, but two more are needed.’ Somehow, after it was said that the two sureties who had been presented did not have Grama Niladhari certificates, I presented two other sureties who were close to me and also known to Kapila, and bail was obtained the following day.

On the morning of May 7, Kapila called me and said, ‘Thank you very much. At a time when there was no one, only you people were there.’ Later, two or three people had sent me messages saying Kapila was facing another problem. When I called Kapila again, he said, ‘There is another court case.’ I told him, ‘Come to our house. Come and speak to lawyer Mr. Rienzie and let’s see what can be done.’

Later in the evening, when we called the lawyer, he said he needed to know all the details and told us to leave Kapila at home and come to meet him. We left Kapila at our house and went to meet the lawyer. By that time, a warrant had been issued for Kapila’s arrest.

Mr. Rienzie said Kapila had to be produced in court the next day. He said he would send a lawyer named Priyantha to the house in the morning and gave me the number. I came home and called lawyer Priyantha. He said he would come in the morning to take Kapila, and therefore asked me to tell Kapila not to go home and to stay at our house.

After that, Kapila called the person working at his house in front of me. He said, ‘I need to get some medicine and clothes.’ He also said, ‘There is a gym mat, send that too.’ I asked him, ‘Where are you planning to go to the gym at this time, machan?’ He said, ‘No, I need it to hang clothes.’

I told my driver to go to Kapila’s house and bring those items. My driver brought the items and kept them on the table. Later, the two of us were talking for a while. Then Kapila said, ‘I have been out for just one day, and now they are trying to put me inside again.’ I understood from him that he had a strong dislike of going back inside. I told him, ‘Don’t worry, we will sort this out.’

After that, I went upstairs and showed him the room. I switched on the AC and told him, ‘Now sleep well and relax. We will face this tomorrow.’ By the time all this was over, it must have been around 12:30 AM.

In the morning, a little after 7:00 AM, I woke up when the lawyer came to the house and called me. I called Kapila twice, but he did not answer. I went to the room and knocked on the door. I also went through the room on the other side and knocked from the bathroom side. But there was no response.

Then I came downstairs and told the lawyer, ‘Kapila may be getting ready.’ I told my wife, ‘Wake Kapila up and send him quickly with the lawyer.’ Later, as there was no response from Kapila, my wife and the lawyer opened the door with the master key and saw what had happened.”

Further evidence in the magisterial inquiry into Chandrasena’s death is scheduled to be heard again on May 14, 2026.

Meanwhile, two persons who allegedly found two fake sureties to stand bail for Kapila Chandrasena were produced before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court today by the Keselwatta Police.

The Magistrate ordered that the two suspects be remanded until tomorrow and that one suspect be produced for an identification parade.

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