Thajudeen murder : suspect shielded!

The arrest of a main suspect in the Wasim Thajudeen murder case has been temporarily put off over the influence of a government bigwig, political sources say.

The bigwig who had urged not to make the arrest during the Budget 2016 vote proceedings, had promised a SLFP bigwig to make the arrest after the final vote on Dec. 19. However, that too, had ended as a broken promise.

Death penalty?

However, Cabinet spokesman minister Rajitha Senaratne says that several prominent figures in the previous government are likely to get the death penalty after they are revealed to be linked to several serious crimes.

Legal action would be sought against these persons as investigations have already concluded, he added.

They face a host of charges including murdering a popular ruggerite, extortion and abduction. Some of these bigwigs will receive accommodation at the Welikada Prison, he further said.

However, the process is slow as the government is only taking the proper legal procedure. Therefore, some are conspiring to topple the government before the process is completed, the minister has further said.