Wimal ARRESTED GETS BAIL
Nabbed by CID while attempting to travel with purportedly lost passport
National Freedom Front leader and MP Wimal Weerawansa who arrived at the Bandaranaike International Air Port in Katunayake yesterday morning to travel abroad using a Passport said to have been previously lost, was arrested by the CID and produced before the Negombo Magistrate’s Court. He was released on a cash bail of Rs. 10,000 and two surety bails of Rupees one million each. My Diplomatic Passport was lost. I thereafter obtained a new Passport. When I was moving out of my earlier house the lost Passport was recovered. I thought it was my new Passport. The Visa had been stamped on the old Passport. I obtained a new Passport today
Mr. Weerawansa arrived at the airport to travel on an Emirates flight to Dubai and when his passport details were checked, it was observed that the details were of a passport reported lost.
He had complained to the Talangama police around 5.00 a.m. stating that his Diplomatic Passport had been lost. He had later visited the Passport office at 07.30 a.m. and obtained a new Diplomatic Passport, airport sources further revealed.
Mr. Weerawansa who returned to the Airport to board the Emirates flight scheduled to depart at 10.05 am was stopped by the Immigration and Emigration officers who refused him to proceed over the dispute that had arisen regarding his Passport, and was taken into the custody by the CID. Sources revealed that the earlier Diplomatic Passport of Weerawansa had been obtained in 2011 and a second Passport had been obtained in May 2012 informing that the earlier Passport had been lost. Using this second Passport Weerawansa had travelled until the end of 2014, and not travelled after the presidential elections.
The proposed visit this time by Weerawansa was to travel on an Emirates flight to Dubai and from there to Italy, France and England to launch his book titled “White Man’s Judiciary and a Nations misfortune” and to attend several programmes covering its issues.
An officer of the Immigration and Emigration department said that they had not been informed of the recovery of the lost Passport.
Weerawansa speaking to our sister paper Lankadeepa said his detention at the airport was a political witch hunt. He said further that by mistake he had obtained the visa approvals on the old Passport, and notifying the recovery of the lost Passport to the department had been overlooked due to an oversight. “My Diplomatic Passport was lost. I thereafter obtained a new Passport. When I was moving out of my earlier house the lost Passport was recovered. I thought it was my new Passport. The Visa had been stamped on the old Passport. I obtained a new Passport today, and arrived at the airport to travel to Dubai, Italy and Paris. I have been detained by CID saying that an investigation had to be conducted. Despite my request for such investigations to be conducted on my return, they ignored. This is a political witch hunt” Mr. Weerawansa said further.