Dilrukshi wants full tape released; faces disciplinary inquiry
Solicitor General and the Bribery Commission's former Director General Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe yesterday called Avant Garde Chairman Nissanka Senadhipathi to release the full contents of a telephone conversation between them -- an issue which has sparked off a controversy.
But the Attorney General’s Department is initiating a preliminary disciplinary inquiry to the remarks against Ms Wickremesinghe through the Public Services Commission ((PSC) after claiming she has admitted it was her voice.
The AG’s Coordinating Officer, State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne told the Sunday Times yesterday
the decision to ask the PSC to conduct a disciplinary inquiry against Ms Wickramasinghe was taken after she admitted to the Attorney General that it was her voice that is heard in an audio recording of a phone conversation alleged to have taken place between her and Mr Senadhipathi.
“It was that admission that has led to the matter being referred to the PSC,” Ms Jayaratne said.
Since Ms Wickramasinghe, as Solicitor General, is the second senior-most officer at the AG’s Department after the AG, Ms Jayaratne said the AG could not conduct a disciplinary inquiry against her. “Our disciplinary authority is the PSC and so the matter will be referred to them," she added.
However, Ms Wickramasinghe in her Facebook accounted stated that as a public officer, she was not permitted to make public or media statements, but challenged Mr Senadhipathi to “publish the entire telephone conversation without editing, doctoring and distorting the contents.” She further asked him to disclose to the public “the name of the minister to whose telephone you called and the reasons why the said minister passed the telephone to me.”
Ms Wickremesinghe confirmed to the Sunday Times that she had posted a statement on the Facebook account.
Mr Senadhipathi, who is currently in Singapore, released the recording through his own personal Facebook page earlier in the week.
Earlier this month, the AG indicted Mr Senadhipathi and 12 others on 7,573 counts at the Permanent High Court Trial at Bar over the Avant Garde floating armoury case.