Former Senior DIG Lalith Jayasinghe sentenced to 5 years in prison

Former Senior DIG Lalith Jayasinghe was sentenced to five years in prison over interfering with the police investigations, by the Ratnapura High Court.

The relevant sentence was delivered today (September 25) in case filed against the former Senior DIG for influencing the Kahawatte Police OIC to refrain from arresting MP Premalal Jayasekera in connection with a shooting incident targeting a group of people who were assembling a platform for a political event in Ratnapura, in the lead-up to the 2015 Presidential Election.

On January 05, 2015, the Pelmadulla Magistrate issued an arrest warrant on MP Jayasekara and several local politicians over their alleged involvement in the shooting incident at a venue of an election rally of former President Maithripala Sirisena who was the common opposition candidate at that time.

A political supporter, who was engaged in decorating an election stage, was wounded in the shooting and succumbed to injuries in hospital on January 08.

Former Deputy Minister Premalal Jayasekara, former Sabaragamuwa PC member Nilantha Jayakody and former Kahawatta PS chairman Vajira Darshana were arrested in January 2015 over the incident, whereas MP Jayasekara was later released on bail in December that year.

In July, 2020, Jayasekara and the other two accused were sentenced to death over the fatal shooting incident. The verdict in the case had been delivered by the Ratnapura High Court.

However, later in March 2022, the Court of Appeal acquitted MP Premalal Jayasekara and two others of charges pertaining to the relevant shooting incident, since there was no evidence of the three accused being in possession of firearms at the time of the incident and then firing shots.