Suspended treasury official’s death ruled suicide

• Four mobile phones taken into custody for forensic analysis

By Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya   

A four-member committee of forensic medical experts confirmed that the suspicious death of a suspended Assistant Director of the Ministry of Finance was a suicide caused by self-inflicted injuries. The death brought renewed attention to an ongoing investigation into an alleged $2.5 million Treasury fraud and has been described by police as a serious setback to the probe. Ranga Rajapaksa, an Assistant Director attached to the Department of External Resources of the General Treasury, was found dead in his garden on April 30.

At the time of his death, Rajapaksa was under suspension pending an investigation into a high-profile fraud case involving the theft of $2.5 million belonging to the Ministry of Finance. The 50-year-old official was found with severe injuries to both legs, while a blood-stained knife was recovered from the scene. Police launched a probe to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the incident. Due to the nature of the victim’s professional background and the ongoing financial investigation, Secretary to the Ministry of Health, Dr Anil Jasinghe, appointed a special panel of four forensic specialists to conduct the post-mortem examination.

The findings were released following a post-mortem examination conducted at the Kuliyapitiya Teaching Hospital on Friday afternoon. The Magisterial inquiry into the death was conducted on the day the body was discovered, followed by the expert medical panel’s review yesterday. After a detailed examination of the nature and patterns of the wounds, the committee concluded that the injuries were self-inflicted, confirming that the Assistant Director had taken his own life. Police also took four mobile phones from the residence into custody for forensic analysis to retrieve deleted digital evidence believed to be linked to the Treasury investigation.   

Despite his suspension, Police said he had been cooperating with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and had appeared for questioning on several occasions in April. According to family members, Rajapaksa had left home earlier that day carrying a knife to carry out routine work in his betel grove. He was later found by workers in the field, who alerted his family. It was reported that he had succumbed to his injuries by the time assistance arrived. A father of two and husband to a schoolteacher, Rajapaksa was an alumnus of Kuliyapitiya Central College and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Senior police officers said that his death is a serious setback to the cyber theft investigation. Further investigation is being carried out under the direct supervision of Senior DIG Ajith Rohana and other high-ranking officials in the North Western Province.