The army said yesterday that the Court of Inquiry appointed to investigate the assault on the army intelligence officer by a group of people allegedly led by a son of a prominent politician had been concluded, and the intelligence officer (a major) was found to be guilty of an offence as he was not on official duty at the time of the attack.

According to the findings of the court, the major was not on official duty although he had said that he was attending to official work at the time of incident which took place at the Hilton Colombo Residence.

The report prepared by the three member court will be handed over to the Legal Branch of the Sri Lanka Army which will make a comprehensive study of it.
The Legal Branch will hand it to Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya today.He will study it further and give his opinion.

Based on the opinion given by the Army Commander, the Legal Branch will take further action if required.

However, the major who sustained injuries and lost his revolver during the assault has since said in court that the sons of the two politicians had not assaulted him and he was ready to settle the matter.

The major had also stated in the court that he was in charge of the Sri Lanka Army's Colombo-South Intelligence Wing and had come to the scene to conduct an investigation into drugs after informing the relevant authorities.

When asked why he had decided to recant his recent statement, he had said that he made the statement while in a state of shock following the incident.

The Army Court of Inquiry is also in the process of recording statements from the major’s superiors. They have already recorded the statements of officers working under him.

The three member court is also investigating the consequences of the major's conduct, and whether he has brought the Army into disrepute by his actions. (Supun Dias)