In a strange twist of events where vital CCTV footage were reportedly erased which may have proved if Megapolis and Western Development Minister Champika Ranawaka was involved in the Rajagiriya accident, Police Spokesman blamed the house owners for deleting the CCTV footage, claiming that the police was ‘helpless’ as there were no CCTV cameras operated by the police in that particular area, and hence they had to rely only on residential CCTV cameras.
Champika Ranawaka
“Usually house owners delete CCTV visuals after about 3 to 4 days, and the probe for the CCTV footage began only about six days after, so by the time the Welikada police tried to obtain the CCTV visuals, the house owners had already deleted it,” Police Spokesman ASP Ruwan Gunasekera told the Colombo Telegraph.
When asked if steps would be taken to install CCTV cameras in other parts of the city other than within Colombo city limits to ensure a similar incident will not occur, ASP Gunasekera said no such decision has been taken and for the moment this seemed unlikely.
He however added that investigation was currently underway to obtain the phone records of two other telephone numbers which reportedly belonged to the Minister.
On Wednesday, Police informed the Colombo Additional Magistrate that the CCTV camera footage ordered to be scrutinized by the Magistrate to verify if the Minister was in fact involved in the hit and run, had been erased. The victim, Sandeep Gunawardena sustained severe injuries following the accident, according to two eye witnesses. The minister however has denied any involvement.
Perriappa / April 1, 2016
a likely story indeed
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Analyst / April 2, 2016
Matter of fact is the Motor cyclist hit the REAR of the Minister’s vehicle ,
Then it’s clear cut ,
that the Minister is innocent.
What’s all this barking up the wrong tree.?
The Colombo joy riders on powerful motor cycles were ILLEGAL. OK
The Minister could have issued a statement to the fact explaining the situation instead of leaving for Tom ,Dick and Harry to take up the Pariah Law of the country to hand. Knowing the thugs on the street would take up the law into their hands and. pulp the brain out of the innocent.
Donkey Kong. state.
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Analyst / April 2, 2016
Correction
Typo error. Please Read as. ” did the motor cyclist hit the rear end of the vehicle??”
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shankar / April 2, 2016
analyst
no,he hit the rear end of the minister.
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shankar / April 2, 2016
and analyst,maybe your brain is also in your rear end.
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Analyst / April 2, 2016
It’s placed as same as where your’s is placed.
The only difference is you are not using it efficiently.
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shankar / April 2, 2016
i knew it.both of us have it in the rear.welcome thompson.
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Jay / April 1, 2016
I am not sure by having cctv footage one can clearly identify a person inside the vehicle and also considering the time 10:00pm night. So i think the loss of footage will make no difference. Examination of moble phone records provide better results. Need to check the incoming and outgoing calls, the timings and duration. For privacy reasons the mobile service providers cannot record actual conversation without a court warrant.
Further, i saw Wimal weerawana comparing Thajudeen case with this incident. They are masters of lies. But ordinary Joe bloke will believe.
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Ben Hurling / April 1, 2016
This guy Champuka claims to be “The Buddhist” in the country.
A basic precept of Buddhism is one should not lie. Problem solved.
Cheers!
PS: “Thou shall not lie” – The Bible
Champuka can pick and chose the scripture he needs.
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gamunu / April 1, 2016
Ben,
If your analysis is correct no christian has ever or will lie!. If they do would the same apply to them too?
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Ben Hurling / April 1, 2016
Gemunu,
Indeed. Not Buddhism nor Christianity accepts lying. Well known to all.
Champuka being the “Holier than thou” Buddhist, at least in his unforgiving, highly vocal public persona, has no other options, but turn himself in.
Tell nothing, but the truth. And come clean.
Cheers!
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Garuda / April 2, 2016
“” Indeed. Not Buddhism nor Christianity accepts lying. Well known to all.””
Lying is obsolete like the Australians who were sent down under for it.
Today’s world they Spin & Spin with a smile and that is acceptable.
He has engineered it better than Hirunika- CLEEEEEN
While his former CEB transformers catch fire.
Disgraceful
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Native Vedda / April 2, 2016
Ben Hurling
“This guy Champuka claims to be “The Buddhist” in the country.”
It seems you don’t believe him. To prove himself being a Buddhist he shaved his head and said he was preparing himself to join the Sangha.
“Tell nothing, but the truth. And come clean.”
You are being very unreasonable to Chambika. You are putting him under lot of pressure.
Don’t forget after all he is a politician.
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samson / April 1, 2016
Even the Thajudeen case is a joke.First they accused Yoshitha for killing and the reason they said miss Yasara was his girl and Thajudeen was after her.Now after Yasara got engage to a Muslim boy a few weeks ago proved it was not Thajudeen and it was this Muslim boy and their love affair was an old one!At the same time they found that Yoshitha was not in SL during that time.So now they accuse Namal for Thajudeen killing and say that Namal wanted to buy Havelok Rugger Club and Thajudeen was against that and for that reason Namal did that!So who are the liers then?
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Sinhala_Man / April 5, 2016
We’re getting so obsessed with technology. I’m sure the crooked guys will always find ways of cheating.
What is necessary is a bit of old fashioned honesty, care and trust.
This is NOT a call for more religious observance; religious leaders are the worst crooks. I think that I must start saying it at the end of every comment I make before Wijedasa Rajapaksha bans it in his new constitution!
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Hitman / April 1, 2016
There is only one person who knows the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth; that is none other than Minister Ranawake himself. If he committed this crime he should accept it and go ahead with the consequences. What all these erasing of CCTV footage, hiding, running away from the crime scene etc show is that he is not genuine! This incident would most probably undermine and cost him his political future!
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saradiyel / April 1, 2016
So if what Champaka says is the truth but nothing but the truth that he wasn’t in the vehicle, you willing to accept it? Or does he still have to take the blame for an incident he didn’t involve?
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gamunu / April 1, 2016
saradiyel, Read the posting well before making comments. No one is saying he has to accept blame for something he didn’t do ,but to be honest and accept the truth. Knowing him as a politician I have my serious doubts.
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gerard mano / April 1, 2016
This is not unusual in Sri Lanka.
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Antany Peter / April 1, 2016
It shouldn’t surprise to anyone. It was, it is and it will be the practice in this country for few centuries, no matter even they call it ‘good governance.’ Evolution will make things better, but evolution comes from decent education. However, education is corrupted in this country. Institutions are selling education to make money, without knowing the purpose of education. This country has been fighting since the independence. It just finished the brutal civil war, but still hasn’t finished the inquiry how it has conducted the final war. Therefore, you can’t expect this country to uphold law and order. Even developed countries are not holding law and order. Those developed countries are shifting goalposts as they see fit, in order to be on top. Australia managed to delete my citizenship and prevented me from getting a human rights lawyer, due to my writings about the struggles of aboriginal people. Most of you won’t believe it even though Australia was invaded on genocide. If they can kill thousands of people to impose their interests, how hard for them to delete a citizenship? In this world justice is like a lottery jackpot, you have to be lucky to have it.
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Shan / April 1, 2016
How it is possible that CCTV footage is available in Thajudeen’s case after years but gone in few days in this case. Police should have secured footage when this came out first. This does not look good for the minister. It looks like another coverup by the government.
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Leena / April 1, 2016
CCTV footage is only ever available after 5 years (or even 2 months) if the security company made it company policy to permanently store the records.
If you take a random CCTV system – which is linked to a small HDD – chances are that it will only contain recordings from the last 3-30 days.
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words / April 1, 2016
What’s wrong here?? The police didn’t ask to retain records of a potential crime scene??? And we are asked not to worry about National Security at large??
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ballah / April 1, 2016
yamapalane is shinning and that make us go blind
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B Mackka / April 1, 2016
Sad state of affairs of ‘Yahapalana’. What about the Police CCTV system as this happened on the main Rajagiriya Road?
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Pygmalion / April 1, 2016
This is now turning out to be Run and Hit case!
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shantha / April 1, 2016
In a civilized country a minister would probably not be driving but if he was i am sure most would admit it and not cause a fuss by lying?
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thrishu / April 1, 2016
Ranawaka and corrupt police might be thinking that they are smart and clever in fobbing off people with their lies. But the fact is, it is the videos that could have cleared the name of Ranawaka if he had been innocent. The declaration that all the neighborhood tapes had been wiped, and that a driver had volunteered to take a blame, is a good indication that there is a Ranawaka/police lead conspiracy to mislead the courts and the public. The accusation sticks in public mind and now it has been reinforced. Ranawaka would not be able to clear his name, and he would for ever be remembered as a hypocrite, “upaasaka balalek” and a suspected liar, and is susceptible to criminal behavior when it suits him. Even if the courts say that he need not answer the accusation because a driver has been charged instead, it would show that courts are being led by the nose by manipulators of the law for their benefit. Has anything changed between the two regimes? The same old story ……… this is Sri Lanka the wonder of the World, and the envy of foreign criminals who would have loved to be here. What a shame!
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MSMadanakulappu / April 1, 2016
Whoever whatever being said and done, Ranaka s van had been collided with the motor cycle from rear side – meaning Van driver is not to be blamed for the accident. These idiotic kids of so call colombo aflfuent class – should be taught a lession, that the law cant be special for them. CC1000 is said to be not for normal civil roads but for special sports. I dont want to clean the minister, but here there is a group that target him at this moment to hang any kind of accusation and see him away from politics. Devious men such Gonapila could be behind all these. But truth will succeed.
Thrisu, the name research bodies please be away from leaving the kind of statements as if you eyewintessed the incident. Donot generalize the acts of police or the others, this is srilanka.Last few months alone, Police has rendered a greater service regardless of their low salaries being given to them.
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Ruwan / April 1, 2016
this is a stupid argument! why did the driver leave the accident site if he is not guilty of an offence! How can you say not guilty without conducting a proper inquiry? The driver would have known that a kid is injured and the first thing he should have done was to stop the vehicle and rush the injured to hospital without running away like a person who is guilty!!
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Bulatheatingpeter / April 1, 2016
Man I am not from srilanka, but I have experienced several accidents where drivers leave the place after the accident is occured. I am from Germany. But anyone who has eyewitnessed the incident can voluntarliy join police in the investigations. This what we called – fahrerflucht -hit and run. So, the said accident is reported by press – that the motorcyclist had collided the jeep from its rear side. So, the cyclist should have lost his control over there. so what was the reason the driver of the jeep to be charged here ?
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MsThalanabatu / April 1, 2016
kid ? May be you have dreamt of the incident being supportive to the culprits – he was said to be over 20years or so.. from super rich colombo circles. These young chaps roam in colombo clubs and they behave as if they belong no second to royals inthe UK.
Chances Ranawaka to have driven the jeep is much less. Basta. I know him from his fair arguments. Ranawaka is a good man by many facets. May be everyone has got, he may have batch mates from the alma mater that work diehard to corner him. One of them is THrisu. Being out of country, guy makes every effort to hang the crime on Ranawaka. He has zero knoweldge about the truths of the incident either. Bugger being inthe UK – as a senior researchers for some E engineering.. long Ranawaka to be out of lanken politics.
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Bensen Berner / April 1, 2016
Minister Ranawake is a devout Buddhist. He cannot be lying. Why do you want the CCTV system? Sri Lanka is a Buddhist country and its judicial system should accept the word of such a holy person. Bensen
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Ben Hurling / April 1, 2016
Exactly!
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MsMaralathoni / April 1, 2016
Irony ?
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Ben Hurling / April 1, 2016
Indeed. What else.
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janaka / April 1, 2016
What about Mahinda catholic pretend Buddhist?
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Analyst / April 1, 2016
Most of their forefathers and grandfathers were Catholics or Christians now the pesent generation are PRETENDING to be BUDDHA worshippers through and through !!
! How hippocritical that be.??
All are Hypocrites with converted Religion. None are so called decendents of Lord Buddha.
They were Don Pereras, Don Solomon Dias ,
, Alice Nona Podiappuhamys also Don Malayalies only a century ago.
Now you know where they came from and how now pretending to be saviours of Buddhism.
All are Jokers of Srilanka. If they love their Religion and their country they would not have Plundered the country to dry and pilfered the wealth for themselves and for their family. Pure Selfishness or
Selfish Buddhism ??
The new government should act accordingly with these con Artistes.
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Analyst / April 1, 2016
What’s up CT
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Analyst / April 1, 2016
What’s up CT? What’s happening to my valuable comments?
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Plato. / April 1, 2016
I have raised this question before.
How and under what circumstances did that name Patali come about?
Low caste eh?
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A.D.J. Perera / April 2, 2016
Plato,
Patalipura is part of the ancient Buddhist landscape in North India.
So Champi, said to have been born and raised a Christian/Catholic, tagged it along his name for political mileage – to fool the millions of meeharak waiting to be taken for suckers in the name of Sinhala Buddhism.
BTW, is the hat in the photograph that Gon Daham has taken to as the latest style?
A.D.J. Perera
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shankar / April 2, 2016
“Usually house owners delete CCTV visuals after about 3 to 4 days, and the probe for the CCTV footage began only about six days after, so by the time the Welikada police tried to obtain the CCTV visuals, the house owners had already deleted it,”
why did it take 6 days when the cops knew that it will be erased in 4.
the cop in charge has to be dismissed out of the police force to set an example.
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Kugan / April 2, 2016
I wonder whether he owns any liquor bars among the list of MPs in previous regime ethonel was imported freely and PM letter head was used to clear the consignment from customs it’s all goes to Maharaja
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Plato. / April 2, 2016
A.D.J.Perera.
Thanks.
As for the hat,he could pull out a Rabbit!
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shankar / April 2, 2016
or a carrot for the injured motorcyclist.
BTW with that hat he looks like Jamis Banda 008
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NAK / April 2, 2016
This investigation is like playing India with Indian umpires! 11 against 14!!
Even the Police are playing horapolice while upm tries to look the other way.
Will any sane person just erase such important evidence with out copying it?
And what were the police doing without retrieving it in time.
First,wish the young kid get well soon and then lets see for how long Pa Cha can play chequers!
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