LAKMAL SOORIYAGODA 
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AG’s opinion to discharge three suspects linked to driver’s abduction, not Lasantha’s murder
Colombo, Feb 06 (Daily Mirror) - The Attorney General’s (AG) legal opinion on discharging three suspects, which recently sparked outrage on social and in mainstream media, was not related to the killing of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunge. Instead, it pertained to the abduction of Wickrematunge’s driver and the disappearance of his field notebook, reliable sources at the AG's Department said.
Sources told the Daily Mirror that the confusion surrounding the AG’s letter to the CID arose because the police reported all facts relating to the abduction and confinement of Lasantha Wickrematunge’s driver, as well as the disappearance of his field notebook, under the same B Report number, B/92/2009. These incidents are indirectly connected to Wickrematunge’s murder.
In 2015, six years after Lasantha Wickrematunge’s murder, his driver, while giving a statement to the CID, revealed that he had been abducted by an unknown group towards the end of 2009. However, sources noted that no complaint about his abduction had been made before this statement.
Based on the driver’s description, a sketch of one of the perpetrators who allegedly held him in confinement was created and published. Subsequently, the suspect was arrested and identified during an identification parade. However, the suspect’s name and sketch had already been publicised in the media prior to the parade. This issue was raised by the suspect’s counsel during the proceedings.
A month after the identification parade, the driver voluntarily gave a statement before the Magistrate, claiming that the CID had shown him several individuals, including the suspect, before the identification parade.
According to sources, this significantly weakened the evidentiary value of the identification parade in any potential prosecution.
Regarding the two other suspects, both police officers, the allegations involved their alleged role in causing the disappearance of the field notebook, which supposedly contained registration numbers of motorcyclists who had allegedly followed Wickrematunge.
The AG’s Department sources explained that there was insufficient evidence to sustain a prosecution against them. Investigators recovered only a photocopy of the notebook’s cover, and the registration numbers written on it did not lead to any viable suspects.
The sources emphasised that, without sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case or a reasonable prospect of securing a conviction, the Attorney General decided to discharge the three suspects and not pursue further legal action.
If the AG was to indict anyone without meeting the required standard of evidence, it could result in challenges and eventual acquittals. Such outcomes might lead to court findings that the prosecution had acted in bad faith or engaged in a witch-hunt, the sources added.
The sources also told the Daily Mirror that police investigations into Wickrematunge’s murder are ongoing, and no arrests have been made to date.
"Any indictments related to the murder will be considered once the police complete their investigations and seek advice on filing charges,” the sources added.
In a letter addressed to the CID Director on January 27, 2025, the Attorney General outlined the decision not to pursue further legal action against the three suspects: Sergeant Prem Ananda Udalagama, a former sergeant attached to the Army Intelligence Unit; former Crimes Officer-in-Charge of the Mount Lavinia Police, Sub-Inspector Tissa Siri Sugathapala and retired Senior DIG Prasanna Nanayakkara, in connection with the magisterial inquiry case number B/92/2009.
On January 8, 2009, Lasantha Wickrematunge was brutally murdered by masked assailants on motorcycles while driving to his office on Attidiya Road, Ratmalana.
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