WARRANTON TANGALLEPSCHAIRMAN

The Colombo High Court yesterday issued an arrest warrant on Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Sampath Chandragupta Vidya Pathirana for not appearing in courts for the trial on the alleged murder of British tourist Khuram Shaikh and harassment of the victim’s Russian girl friend at a Tan- galle holiday resort in December 2011.

When the matter was taken up for inquiry Counsel Shabdika Wellapuli informed court that those who stood surety for the Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman were present in court and they had informed that the accused had been admitted to a private hospital in Galle on Wednesday evening after falling ill.

However Judge Kumudini Wickramasinghe issued a warrant for the arrest of the accused and ordered the sureties to produce the medical certificate in court on January 22.

Judge Wickramasinghe also ordered the registrar of the court to accept the guarantors of the fourth and fifth accused as sureties for the accused W. Pradeep Chaturanga and M. Sarath alias Sahan after checking the authentica- tion certificates of the sureties’ assets.

The second suspect U.Saman Deshapriya was earlier released on bail.

The case which was called before the Galle Magistrate’s Court against the accused O.A Lahiru Kalum, U.Saman Deshapriya, Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Sampath Chandragupta Vidya Pathirana, W. Prageeth Chaturanga, M. Sarath alias Sahan, S. Prageeth Chaturanga, was transferred to Colombo by the Attorney General purportedly on a complaint of intimidating the witnesses by the suspects. The trial was postponed for January 22.