Duminda Dissanayake indicted in gold-plated T-56 rifle case

Former Minister Duminda Dissanayake and another woman were served indictments before the Colombo High Court today (September 10) over the discovery of a gold-plated T-56 assault rifle.

After the indictments were served, the High Court Judge ordered Dissanayake and the other accused to be released on bail.

The case relates to a gold-plated T-56 assault rifle found inside a woman’s travel bag at the Havelock City apartment complex on May 20, 2025.

Dissanayake was arrested by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) on May 23, 2025, in connection with the discovery and was later produced before the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court and remanded.

On July 14, 2025, he was produced before the Colombo High Court, where Judge Manjula Thilakaratne granted him bail of Rs. 250,000 in cash and two sureties of Rs. 5 million each.

However, on July 29, 2025, Mount Lavinia Magistrate Chathurika de Silva released Dissanayake from the Magistrate’s Court case after stating that there was no direct or circumstantial evidence to support the charges against him.

The latest High Court proceedings follow that earlier Magistrate’s Court decision, with indictments now served on Dissanayake and the woman in connection with the firearm.