Road Development Authority clerk remanded for bribery

By Bhagya Silva

Colombo, September 1 (Daily Mirror) - A clerk attached to the North Western Provincial Road Development Authority was ordered to be remanded till September 12 by Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama.

He is accused of accepting a bribe of Rs. 120,000 from an individual in Polgahawela, in order to refrain from taking action to demolish an unauthorised building and to avoid carrying out further investigations.

The suspect has been identified as D.M. Indrapadma Dissanayake, Chief Clerk attached to the office of the Executive Engineer of the North Western Provincial Road Development Authority.

According to a complaint lodged with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) by Nihal Tilakasuriya, the owner of the unauthorised building in Polgahawela, the suspect was arrested and produced before court.

Presenting facts, CIABOC officials informed court that the suspect had initially demanded a bribe of Rs. 150,000 from the complainant, in order to refrain from demolishing the said unauthorised building and to avoid further inquiries. The complainant, however, had negotiated and agreed to pay Rs. 120,000 and duly notified the Bribery Commission.

The suspect was subsequently arrested while accepting the money during a sting operation carried out by undercover officers, investigators told court.

After considering the submissions made by the Bribery Commission officials and the counsel appearing for the suspect, the Chief Magistrate ordered that the accused be remanded till September 12.