KARUNA released on bail

Former minister Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, also known as Karuna Amman, who was remanded on charges of misusing a state vehicle, by the FCID, was ordered to be released on bail by Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya yesterday.

He was released on a cash bail of Rs. one million with four sureties of Rs. five million each. Travel ban was imposed while ordered to report to the FCID every Sunday by the Magistrate. According to the prosecution, the suspect had received a bulletproof vehicle in 2010 from the Presidential Secretariat after being elected as a parliamentarian.

Based on the statement given to the FCID by the suspect, the so-called vehicle had been sent to a vehicle repairing garage in Batticaloa in February 2015 by the security people of the suspect to fix some technical errors of the vehicle.

However, following the conclusion of his time as a parliamentarian in August 2015, he had not returned the vehicle given to him.

FCID alleged that the suspect should be liable for the misappropriation occurred after the Rs. 98 million worth state vehicle being kept in a garage in Batticaloa without anyone’s supervision.

The suspect was arrested over committing offences that fell under section 5(1) of the Public Property Act and the Penal Code.

The case was postponed for February 1.