Prov. Councillor started brawl: Preliminary investigation reveals

According to the preliminary investigation that was held into an incident where a Provincial Councillor and his wife were seen allegedly assaulting a private bus driver, it was found that Southern Provincial Councillor M. K. Kasun had started the brawl with the private bus driver, Investigation officer Thalangama Police OIC Arjun Mahimkanda said yesterday.

When contacted, he said their investigations had revealed that the Provincial Councillor had obstructed the bus plying on route number 177 from Kaduwela to Kollupitiya and started the brawl when the private bus driver asked him to stop obstructing him from doing his duties.

The incident had taken place on Friday (9) at the Koswatta Junction in Battaramulla.

Investigations had revealed that the two vehicles were racing against each other when the altercation took place.

OIC Mahimkanda said the Provincial Councillor’s wife Tharaka Perera had joined her husband in assaulting the driver while brandishing a pistol to keep away the passengers who were at the scene.

Although video footage of the brawl, said to have been uploaded by passengers,went viral on social media, the OIC said the video footage was blurry and therefore requested the shops nearby to provide them with CCTV footage of the incident for which a Court order had been received but said they were yet to receive a response.

OIC Mahimkanda said there were complaints that the driver of the bus did not possess a driving license, but confirmed that their investigations had revealed that he was an experienced driver with all the required paperwork including license and registration. He further said that just because a driver does not possess a licence and registration it does not have any bearing on the issue at hand which was the brawl that had taken place between two parties.

He said the passenger bus was owned by a person with the alias 'Suda' who is now in remand custody for a criminal offence.

It was revealed that M. K. Kasun represents the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and is the son of late Southern PC member M. K. Ranjith, AKA Chandi Malli, who was a close supporter of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Chandi Malli was shot dead in front of the Bank of Ceylon York Street branch on May 25, 2003.

OIC Mahimkanda said that the councillor had a record of violent behaviour.

Investigations had also revealed that the revolver used during the altercation was registered to Provincial Councillor M. K. Kasun but its license had expired as it had not been renewed for the current year.

Police said though the revolver was not fired only five bullets were left in the cylinder when it was taken into police custody as it was a common practice to keep one chamber empty as there is no safety lock in the revolver.

Meanwhile, Southern Provincial Council Chief Government Whip Ajith Rajapakse stressed the need to detail police or security personnel to provide protection to PC members in view of the recent incident where provincial councillor M. K. Kasun’s wife had been forced to come to his rescue when he was assaulted by a private bus driver. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)