Former Reparations DG Sepalika Saman Kumari granted bail

By Bhagya Silva

Colombo, Oct. 8 (Daily Mirror) - Sepalika Saman Kumari, former Director General of the Office for Reparations and current Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms, was released on bail today.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama granted bail to the suspect with two sureties of Rs. 1 million each.

The Magistrate also ordered that the suspect must not enter the Office for Reparations and directed the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice to ensure she is not assigned any duties related to the Office.

She was arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) on charges of aiding and abetting the controversial compensation payment linked to former State Minister Shasheendra Rajapaksa.

The Chief Magistrate observed that there was no evidence indicating the suspect had received any financial benefit from the incident and took into account her long years of public service as special factors when granting bail.

The case concerns an incident where a property belonging to the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority, located in the Sewanagala–Kiriibbanwewa area, was damaged during the unrest on May 9, 2022. Although compensation for the property had initially been rejected, it was later approved without the proper consent of the Office for Reparations Board to pay Rs. 8 million as compensation to former State Minister Shasheendra Rajapaksa.