Inquiry involving Namal Rajapaksa’s private secretary

Daily Mirror, Lankadeepa, WhatNews (සිංහල), Sri Lanka Mirror, Newswire and Ada Derana (தமிழ்) report that Sanjaya Samarasinghe, identified as a private secretary to MP Namal Rajapaksa, was granted bail by a Colombo court on the 20th. Daily Mirror names Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama as the judicial officer who issued the order.

Lankadeepa reports that the Bribery Commission arrested Samarasinghe and brought him before court over an allegation that he kept property derived from crime in a safe. Newswire describes the matter as involving unexplained Rs. 1.8 million, while Sri Lanka Mirror reports that the arrest was made by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.

Sri Lanka Mirror reports that the court required two sureties of Rs. 1 million each and barred Samarasinghe from leaving the country. WhatNews (සිංහල) also reports the two sureties and a foreign-travel restriction. Sri Lanka Mirror says the court considered submissions by commission officials and President’s Counsel Sampath Mendis, who appeared for Samarasinghe.

WhatNews (සිංහල) separately reports that a group went to Samarasinghe’s home in Mount Lavinia at night, entered the property, and took a safe after he said he could not remember its combination. The reports provided do not give a subsequent court date or further details about what happens next.