Robbing Rukantha and Chandraleka: Eleven ex-PSD men remanded

Panadura Provincial High Court Judge Kusala Sarojanee Weerawar- dena yesterday remanded all the eleven accused indicted by the Attorney General for the robbery of property valued at over Rs 3.6 mil- lion including a brand new jeep belonged to singer Rukantha Gunatilake and his wife

Chandraleka Perera on the night of January 26, 2000. The accused are Bandula Madushan, W.D. Nihal Wijesiri, Sarath Kumara Weerasinghe, Karunaratne Jayalath, Lesley Chandratilake, Athula Senaratne, R.P. Somaratne, R. Dharmasiri, Lalinda Raguratne, Sampath Ranasinghe and Upalee Ariyadasa all of whom were police officers and members of the presidential security division of the then president, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga.

All of them were indicted by the Attorney General for being members of an unlawful assembly and breaking into the house of the two singers Rukantha Gunatilake and his wife Chandraleka Perera on the night of January 26, 2000 and harassing them by cutting their hair and robbery of a jeep valued at Rs 3.5 million and jewellery valued at Rs. one hundred and fifty thousand from their possesion. The trial in the 13 year old case was concluded yesterday by the Panadura Provincial High Court Judge and judgment was fixed for July 24. The judge remanded all accused till that date. Senior State Counsel Deelepa Peris and state counsel C. Samarasinghe led the prosecution.