Shani Abeysekara named as witness in Prageeth Ekneligoda disappearance case

The Attorney General’s Department has officially informed the Colombo High Court that the current Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Shani Abeysekara, has been named as a witness in the ongoing case related to the abduction and disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda.

The case was taken up today (July 16) before a three-judge Trial-at-Bar bench comprising Justices Dr. Namal Balalle, Mahesh Weeraman, and Sujeewa Nissanka.

President’s Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma, representing the aggrieved party, told the court that Shani Abeysekara had served as the Chief Investigating Officer and supervised the entire investigation. He noted that a request to include Abeysekara as a witness had been submitted on November 29, 2022, and that Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris had agreed to consider the matter.

However, Kumarapperuma pointed out that, until now, Abeysekara had not been officially named as a witness.

Responding to the matter, Deputy Solicitor General Wasantha Perera, who appeared on behalf of the prosecution, confirmed that Shani Abeysekara has already been listed as the 109th witness in the case.

The court subsequently postponed further hearings to July 18, 2025.

The case relates to the alleged abduction and forced disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda on January 25, 2010. Former Commanding Officer of the Giritale Army Camp, Lieutenant Colonel Shammi Kumara Ratna, and nine other members of the Military Intelligence Corps have been named as accused in the case.