Megapolis and Western Province Development Minister Champika Ranawaka who denied his involvement in an accident in Rajagiriya, is in hot water as new evidence has surfaced confirming his involvement which left one person critically injured and in ICU.
An eyewitness account detailing the accident on Sunday night, claimed that the vehicle, a Nissan Patrol which knocked the bike driver around 10 p.m. at Rajagiriya was in fact been driven by Ranawaka.
“Soon after the accident happened, the driver of the Nissan Patrol sped away, but we followed him and when we stopped and I got down to go and assault him, the driver said ‘I am Champika Ranawaka, don’t assault me, it is my fault, let’s go to the Borella police station,” a friend of the victim said.
But, the eyewitness said he did not want to risk going with the Minister, as he did not know what will happen to him and instead demanded the Minister’s ID card, who had refused to give it to him.
“Anyway, we went to the police (on our own) immediately to lodge a complaint and even our statements were taken only many hours later, and that too in a book that looked like some receipt book, and our statement was written in one of the last pages,” the eyewitness said.
According to him when they went the next day to follow up on the case, the police had informed them that the person who drove the vehicle had surrendered and he was produced in court and bailed out. “We saw the vehicle but even the license plate number was covered. We don’t know who surrendered even, and when the victim is still in ICU, how can they grant the culprit bail,” he questioned.
Meanwhile in a letter addressed to the Inspector General of Police, three Parliamentarians; Shehan Semasinghe, Kanchana Wijesekara and D. V. Chanaka queried whether the police had checked the CCTV camera’s following the accident to verify the culprit.
“The police must understand that it is their responsibility to bring the actual culprit to book. Law should be the same to everyone. We call upon you to ensure that an impartial investigation is carried out so the public’s confidence in the law will be upheld,” the letter stated in the letter addressed to N. K. Illangakoon today.
Audio of an eyewitness account:
ballah / March 4, 2016
Arrest pacha renawaka…..but i’m sure yamapalaka police will not touch pachaya
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Native Vedda / March 4, 2016
ballah
“Arrest pacha renawaka…..but i’m sure yamapalaka police will not touch pachaya “
Wasn’t he once your poster boy?
Wasn’t he once your favourite public racist?
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ballah / March 4, 2016
not any more stupid vedda, he’s [Edited out] and had become a sarwagamikaya
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Ben Hurling / March 4, 2016
Ballah,
Not in defense of Champuka, but what’s exactly wrong with a “sarwagamikaya”?
To be so primitively intolerant of other faiths are you an uneducated, fundamentalist Wahabi or a Salafi nomad from the desert?
Even if you are primitive and intolerant due to your background, please realize you now live in the “Big City”. Do not bring the crap from your desert tent here.
Cheers!
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Japwatch / March 4, 2016
Ben,
I love your imagination and the right choice of words. Primitive people in the Big City. Hahaha.
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ballah / March 7, 2016
i thought you’re a [Edited out]
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baba / March 5, 2016
It’s funny how this website allows abusive language like that below, but filters out and censors valid criticism of their masters.
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Native Vedda / March 4, 2016
Ben Hurling
If Ranil/Sirisena don’t exonerate him from whatever he has done the man would happily switch side, and cross over to the common comical opposition.
Therefore Ranil should take the necessary and immediate steps to frame someone else to this incident.
There may be hundreds of Champika devotees queuing up at the local police station owning up the crime, if the price is right.
Where were his body guards?
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Ben Hurling / March 4, 2016
Native,
Today it is Ranawaka. Tomorrow it could be you or me. I often worry about running somebody over by accident, in this traffic congested, discourteous, lawless country.
Often the resulting tragedy doubles as violent mobs gather to lynch the driver. Dishing out barbaric street justice. There is no shortage of that in this “Buddhist” nation.
I do not really know the truth behind all this noise. My thoughts are with the victim in the ICU.
If Ranawaka is responsible, he should turn up at the local Police station. With his head held high and own up to it. That is the standard I expect from our citizens. Not least from a Cabinet minister. Remains to be seen whether we have such honorable men in this country.
But, Ranawaka has already denied the whole thing. He cannot do that now.
I want to live in a country, where if I make an unintentional mistake with fatal results, I would be treated with sympathy & dignity as well.
Cheers!
PS:
If Ranawaka is caught with his pants down, he is welcome to join the Coconut Thieves Collective. Not our problem. As long as we find a talented minister, who can handle Megapolis and impact on our delicate environment properly.
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srinath.gunaratne / March 4, 2016
Ben!
Everyone should be treated with dignity,
Every accident in unintentional!
For mistakes, you have to pay the price, People also kill by mistake!
There are no mistakes in law.
Champika must be arrested and produced in court based on this evidence!
People did not vote yama palana government to get Mahinda treatment (Rape and stay free)!
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simion / March 5, 2016
How come you the ilk turning your cow dung filled mind sets this way ?
I thought you would even let your family ones raped by Mahinda Gangs.
If the current admin is yamapalanaya, yo should not have words to describe the way Meehararaka treated his own folks until 8th Jan 2015.
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Buwa / March 6, 2016
Shutup and hold the elections you undemocratic tinpot dictators. The real sri lankans will show the kind of popularity your traitorous western slaves have right now.
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Native Vedda / March 5, 2016
Ben Hurling
Only yesterday I heard a young man from the East, while riding his motor-bike knocked two children and both were lightly injured.The young man is still in police custody almost two weeks now. According to his family, police would not let him out on bail until the hospital produces a medical report on the children’s physical condition.
I have no problem with traffic rules/laws only if it is equally applied across the country without fear or favour.
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Down with Sinhala haters / March 6, 2016
[Edited out]
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Japwatch / March 4, 2016
Native,
Good observation. Where were Champika’s bguards at that time? Frankly he does not need bguards, waste of our money.
I am dead scared of cyclists, bikers etc. scary. But unfortunately if an accident happens, terrifying feeling. So one might runaway. But once you come to your senses, just rush back to the scene and own up. That will make things easier for you.
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Native Vedda / March 5, 2016
Japwatch
Being a politician and a Minister he should not be overcome by his own fears.
As a Minister he should have been a role model for other motorists.
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Daham / March 5, 2016
“Where were Champika’s bguards at that time? “
They don’t go with body guards to brothels!!
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Native Vedda / March 5, 2016
Daham
“They don’t go with body guards to brothels!!”
Of course they don’t.
Being minister, somebody has to carry his b***s 24/7/52.
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Dissanayake / March 4, 2016
Shame on you. You preach about good governance for long, as I observed you. But you want Ranil to “take the necessary and immediate steps to frame someone else to this incident” so that you can protect this government. Hilarious way of establishing the good governance.
So you are in the same category of political hooliganism but the other side of the coin.
But what we need is the end to this culture of impunity. The law and order should be equal to all irrespective of political favouritism of any individual or a group.
There should be an impartial investigations based on witnesses and other forensic evidences.
But I doubt that the Police has been politicised dramatically. It seems that the Police has already tampered the evidences to exonerate Champika.
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Inspector Dirty Hari / March 5, 2016
Native Vedda,
“Where were his body guards?”
You took the words out of my mouth. A minister should have had his body guards with him and they should have seen what happened or did not happen.
If the minister was somewhere else his body guards should be able to verify his alibi.
According to the Daily Mirror two eyewitnesses have provided written statements to the IGP yesterday claiming that the minister drove.
http://www.dailymirror.lk/106422/Acting-IGP-seeks-report-over-allegations-on-Champika
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Devaka Jayasuriya / March 4, 2016
It is by now crystal clear that Opponents of this so called Yahapalanaya only have the Hobson’s choice . but who favors it escapes in an ugly manner with absolute immunity. It is evident from the facts that Champika is trying to flee away from a crime he committed . Holier than thou brethren of Yahapalanaya has come under a dark shadow again . This is the polar opposite of what they preached before last Jan . 8th . Disgusting way of handling law and order .
Devaka Jayasuriya – Kadawata
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gaje / March 4, 2016
I am no supporter of Champika. But how come friends were there by chance and chase him immediately after the accident?? If the smart Alec friend was that smart he should have recorded Chamipakas plea!! The interviewer also asks closed ended questions with the answer in the question. Why did they not follow him to the police station?? Even if he had driven this bit is a drama by friends and sensational media???
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Devaka Jayasuriya / March 4, 2016
There will be a patsy and Always our system favors the mighty ones . If law and order genuinely implemented I think he will be needed in the case of Eknaligoda’s disappearance as well .
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Ajantha / March 4, 2016
these are [Edited out] who portray a different pictures in front of TV camera preaching vadi bana. People should stone this pachaya to death
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kumaran / March 4, 2016
Does anyone see the irony?! I am not an admirer of CR by any means. But if you regard him as a mere individual who fails to stop at a serious accident site the reason is clear: he admits and even this character who so grandly says he wanted to assault the man in the car, what I see is the typical VIOLENT attitude of our people. No one dare stop at an accident site because they are scared of being assaulted! In any CIVILISED country, you stop, call and have the ambulance and police come to the site, the victim is removed, police take statements etc. The prospects of being assaulted are impossible to imagine. THIS is the basic reason for our failure as a nation: everything must and can only be settled by violent means.
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kumaran / March 4, 2016
One more comment to my previous one: get rid of that demonic and ugly image (is it a lion?!) These are the very embodiments of violence.
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Japwatch / March 4, 2016
Kumaran,
Lions are cute. But this one is ugly indeed. Don’t allude all the lions to that idiosyncratic things some fools tried to do. That was an epic fail anyway.
Remember Sri Lanka was all elephants, and someone got all smart and wanted to change the mindset of the people. Was it Gota? Who cares anyway?
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kumara / March 5, 2016
Exactly what I say! The lion is a noble and a fearless creature and is a delight to watch, even on the MGM advert. But this “caricature”!! To me it looks like a demon, a image of a badly wrought barrel!!
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Keynes! / March 4, 2016
[Edited out]
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Candid / March 4, 2016
Champika showed us who he truly was soon after the Aluthgama/Beruwela riots. An out and out racist who distributed a free ration pack and a 10,000 Rupee cheque to only those of his own kind stage managed in front of cameras to capture the moment, whilst leaving out the rest of those others who were affected to fend for themselves. His talk in Paris to the SL community on the virtues of everything that is Sri Lankan is superior than India, really ate the cake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua9Wt8_ZMoI
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thondamanny / March 4, 2016
Failed to stop !!!!!!!!!!!!!
or
Unstoppable ????????????????
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shankar / March 4, 2016
have the cops become horapolis in our megapolis?
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Douglas / March 4, 2016
I am some what reluctant to bye this story of the witness chasing a running driver and that he, the driver was in fact the Minister CR. Anyone can identify CR from his height, attire and also approaching him no one needs to ask for an ID. The person the witness apprehended will always try to AVOID by dropping names and connections etc, an assault by the people in instances of this nature; because that has become the NORM of the country. However CR cannot escape the responsibility and let Law prevails. It was a few weeks back that an Army vehicle driven by an Army driver was involved in an accident and the victim died. In this case the Major who was a passenger receiving treatment in a base hospital was arrested on orders of the Police Spokesman and produced in courts and bailed out. So I believe this will apply even to CR. This is another instance where the Police have to show their Impartiality and tell the society that their the custodians of Law and Order. Let us be patient in the meantime and watch the developments.
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Japwatch / March 4, 2016
Doug,
Me too. I cannot believe that this guy asked the ID from Champika. There are other little indicators that make me trust the veracity of his statements. Not a fan of Champika. Especially when he wrongfully posed as THE MAN, behind the change of regime to CHANNEL NEWS ASIA.. Was too busy at that time, otherwise I would have requested the channel to report correctly.
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Plato. / March 4, 2016
Champika PATALI Ranawaka.
Whats in a name?
I used to often wonder how the middle name PATALI came about.
Champika and Ranawaka are typical Sinhala names!
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Mallaiyuran / March 5, 2016
“I used to often wonder how the middle name PATALI came about”
He is the mirror brother of Anbumani. His name is Vanbumani
Champika ran out of the Old Royal Ship when it was sinking. Now, the cardboardveeraya ran away from the accident site. Is there lot of differences between the both occasions?
It can happen to anybody, but Royal Ministers do it. What happened to Suriyachchari?
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upul / March 4, 2016
Who said there was no “higher authority” ???
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gaje / March 4, 2016
Again this is not in defense of CR. I see very few thinking rationally. All want to believe CT sensation! There is hardly any credible evidence to pin him at least the way this guy is speaking? Anyone can record his version again anonymously! ! We need a recording of CR not MR style evidence?? He seems a rudderless guy saying what the interviewer wantS!! No doubt he (cr) is/was a racist. Now his opponents are coming out with filth. Why can’t the Sri Lankan s think rationally??
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Upul Jayasuriya / March 4, 2016
The Thug racist minister is at it again. We saw how Champika and Gammapilla behaved over the sale of the Benz of Medananda Himi. He is a bloody thug who needs to be arrested immediately
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Nish / March 6, 2016
Are you the corrupt lawyer who sold the BASL to the USAID or just a pretender?
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Viraj Hewage / March 4, 2016
accidents happen. It takes guts to stop and say I am sorry and to try and help the victim. It takes a man to accept responsibility.
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vis8 / March 5, 2016
The minister was involved in a hit and run accident, and is guilty….. he left the accident scene… Minister or not, he should be arrested and a proper court hearing is appropriate.
Yahapalanaya: we are watching to see what you will do now :) enjoy………
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Goraka / March 5, 2016
Sri Lanka – what a country!
We beat the crap out of driver for an accident! ACCIDENT – meaning unintentional.
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bo / March 5, 2016
I believe the two eye witnesses rather than Ranawaka.
Birds that leap from one branch to another for material gains in their lives have no principles at all. They lie they kill they steal, for them uttering falsehood is nothing and as easy as eating a pie. Even the damned police have been stitched up by this crook of a minister. Even if I had a little respect for this fellow, now it’s lost for ever. The man has no honor, no strength of character, and he think he could preserve his dignity through lying. Now he lost it, what an idiot!
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Spring Koha / March 5, 2016
Patta Champika the Chimp had already been unmasked as an uncouth, unprincipled, racist thug unfit to be a minister (leave aside an MP).
In short, Patta Champika was an accident waiting to happen.
Sadly, innocent lives have been blighted.
This is something straight out of the wild west.
Truly, a land like no other.
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Native Vedda / March 5, 2016
Spring Koha
“Patta Champika the Chimp had already been unmasked as an uncouth, unprincipled, racist thug unfit to be a minister (leave aside an MP).”
Even if he is not guilty of this accident, can the police charge him for his past association with and aiding and abetting the kleptocracy when he was a minister during Mahinda’s reign of terror, or for mismanagement and waste in his ministry?
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Steve De'Silva / March 5, 2016
What exactly do you mean by “Mahinda’s reign of Terror”? Did he bomb ur house? Rape your sister or mother ? Or did he kill and maim civillians? Please explain..
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Spring Koha / March 5, 2016
Steve De’Silva
From 19th November 2005 upto about 4 am on the morning of 9th January 2015 the buck stopped with Mahinda Rajapaksa. He ruled our island kingdom and nothing happened without his knowledge and mostly with his approval. If he did nothing personally, he is responsible for allowing things to be done by proxy, with his tacit approval.
He probably did not do the things that you so innocently ask about. Don’t be coy. Unless you lived in a different universe, you pretty well must know what we are talking about.
Terror and misery does not have to be visited on just your mother or sister; WE are all responsible for the well being of fellow citizens (Yes, even if we disagree with their views and opinions) and WE should all be concerned for the unaccounted missing, departed and grieving.
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Liberal One / March 6, 2016
Sigh. Were you in a coma and opened your eyes on November 2005? We used to jump over burning bodies when catching the bus to office in 80s, live in the dark for 2-3 hours a day because our glorious politicians couldnt build a effing power plant, take 2 hours to travel from the air port to the effing capital and watch live our prime minister shaking hands with a terrorist who was hell bent of dividing the country we call home.
Rajapaksha left Sri Lanka in a much strong position than what he took over. He’s gone for good now. Good governance regime’s job is to take it forward from there. Not wet your pants every day thinking about Rajapakshe.
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Native Vedda / March 6, 2016
Liberal One
“Were you in a coma and opened your eyes on November 2005?”
Were you in Coma in 1971 when SLFP killed youth in a few days?
“Rajapaksha left Sri Lanka in a much strong position than what he took over.”
Please don’t confuse yourself with country and MR clan. MR made his clan financially strong and left the country bankrupt and unanswered questions, war crimes, commissions, unpaid bills, nepotism, murders, corrupt practices, human rights violation, created a special class of Sinha Le over human dignity.
The saffron clad Gnanasara also thought Gota left him a strong racist thug.
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Jehan / March 6, 2016
He killed Prabakaran the Sun God of of Native Veddah – the self hating Sinhala NGO parasite hiding behind a pseudo native identity. Hence Rajapaksha is a terrorist.
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Greg / March 6, 2016
Stop trying to talk sense into these people. Most are in a hate rage because the eelam project go delayed by a decade bc of Rajapakshe.
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Spring Koha / March 5, 2016
Native Vedda
It is one of the mysteries of of life as to how Champika has avoided having to answer for incompetence and deviousness, and for his part in crimes against ordinary citizens. Put his escape down to the vagaries of our island life (rife in this land beyond compare) and the practice prevailing during the years of the Liberator when justice was selective.
One would never kick a decent man when he is down. But Champika is not a decent man. If you ever have the misfortune to shake his hand, count your fingers afterwards.
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Nuwan / March 5, 2016
The minister did what a typical minister should have done. If you were to expect Yaha Palanaya, base it on principles, not on personalities. Certainly not those who were part and parcel of the previous regime.
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Inspector Dirty Hari / March 5, 2016
Eyewitness,
“Soon after the accident happened, the driver of the Nissan Patrol sped away, but we followed him and when we stopped and I got down to go and assault him, the driver said ‘I am Champika Ranawaka, don’t assault me, it is my fault, let’s go to the Borella police station,” a friend of the victim said.”
Why do you think that you have the right to assault people? Why do you admit your intention to assault? Are you proud of it or stupid?
“But, the eyewitness said he did not want to risk going with the Minister, as he did not know what will happen to him and instead demanded the Minister’s ID card, who had refused to give it to him.”
Why should anybody give his/her ID card to you?
You should have filmed all of this!
You did have the right to make a private arrest as the law calls it.
“Anyway, we went to the police (on our own) immediately to lodge a complaint and even our statements were taken only many hours later, and that too in a book that looked like some receipt book, and our statement was written in one of the last pages,” the eyewitness said.
This is the usual way.
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Gune / March 5, 2016
If this is true then it is a serious offence that the minister has committed. There is yet another offence is that the police is complicit to this offence. I find the latter even bigger than of the ministers offence. Just imagine the authority tasked of maintains law and order tangoing with the minister on his matter. MS and RW must take serious action and on this. It is is not MR or his stooges that are derailing yahapalanaya but the government itself.
It is such incidents by MPs and Ministers and the inaction of the presiding head of state and PM that sickens people. I think the present regime needs to conduct a course and educate MPs and Ministers on how conduct themselves in the responsible positions they hold.
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Shrikharan / March 5, 2016
It is really not a question whether it was his driver or the Champika Ranawaka who drove the vehicle. It does not matter whether it was his driver who was on control of the steering, but still the Minister who was in the vehicle during the accident, is the master and the owner of the vehicle involved in a ‘hit and run’ accident. It is ultimately the responsibility of Champika being the owner, master and co traveller of vehicle, he should have order the driver to stop.
If he was an ordinary citizen he would have been arrested by now. All rules are the same for every citizen and being an MP or Minister does not by any means exempt from being prosecuted especially after fleeing away following an accident.
This incident gives lot of fire power to the Rajapakse group to justify their stand for accusing the Government showing political vengeance against Yoshitha Rajapakse the son of the former President. ( I don’t certainly agree, revenge politics was openly practiced by the Rajapakses and was clear to all when Sarath Fonseka and Shirani Bandaranayake were the two high profile cases, when many too suffered even met with their deaths.)
I am sorry to say Champika should be really arrested even if the benefit of the doubt was granted he did not drive the vehicle because he was the master and co-traveler and he should have ordered his driver to stop, which he did not do.
If he is not arrested then this Government has no right to arrest and ruin the future of a young man Yoshitha Rajapakse if rules are not equally applied to all citizens. Then Yoshitha has a case for the fundamental rights plea demanded from the justice system.
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Spring Koha / March 5, 2016
Yoshit? Fundamental Rights?
Did Wasim Thajudeeen have any Fundamental Rights?
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Henry / March 5, 2016
I hope that with this incident, he will bite the dust, which would mean the end of his political career. Going by past events and his stage performances, he is phony guy and a fraudster. I remember one of his first public statements ‘Electricity Board made Profit for first time this year’, after he took charge of the Ministry, which was later proved to be a totally incorrect. His racist views are legendary and are highly misplaced, specially since he is the leader of a political Party, holding Ministerial position which ultimately makes him National (for all people irrespective) in representation. If at all he has anything to prove his metal, it is his gift of the gab, which is the only thing anyone needs to survive by hook or by crook in SL politics.
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justice / March 5, 2016
Was he breathalysed to detect any alcohol in his blood stream?
Are his glasses for distant vision and/or for near vision?
Was he wearing them at the time of the accident?
If he needed glasses for driving and did not wear them, he was driving with impaired vision – this is an offence.
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Hesh / March 6, 2016
Puh imagine the gon-ho response our bubbled elites and pro western slaves will be giving to this if Champika had remain in the pro Sri Lanka camp? Just like how their hate against Mervin and Duminda died down the moment they switched sides.
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Jehan / March 6, 2016
The jahapalana government is going down all with it’s corrupt western servents, anti national zombies and the racist separatist supporters. The sad part is the economic stagnation these naive idiots brought upon us.
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Mevan / March 6, 2016
Even a skeptic like me is starting to wonder whether the coconuts are taking having it’s effect. The whole government is going mad while there isn’t a single gonpalana voter to be found in the village level. The Kollupitiya/Toronto gon thadiyas are a different story ofcourse.
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