Divisional Secretary probed over alleged fake marriage documents

By Ajithlal Shantha Udaya

Police have launched a special investigation following a complaint alleging that a Divisional Secretary currently serving at a Divisional Secretariat in the Ratnapura District had prepared fraudulent documents in connection with her marriage.  The complaint was lodged by Ratnapura District Secretary K.G.M. Nishantha, prompting authorities to initiate detailed inquiries into the matter, police said. 

According to information revealed during preliminary investigations, the Divisional Secretary, a native of the Ratnapura District, married a Sri Lanka Army staff officer on July 2014. Her husband died on February 2015, around ten months after the marriage.  
About eight months after his death, she reportedly entered into a second marriage with a soldier who had served as the personal aide (batman) of her late husband. Although she was a widow at the time, her civil status in the second marriage certificate had allegedly been recorded as “unmarried”.  
Police further said that two children were born from the second marriage, and the name of the deceased first husband had been entered as the father on the children’s birth certificates.  
Investigators have also drawn attention to the fact that in 2018, the second husband allegedly changed his name to match that of the Divisional Secretary’s deceased first husband, adopting the same surname and name. This change was reportedly made for a second time under Section 13 of his birth certificate.  
Police said investigations are continuing to determine whether criminal offences have been committed in the preparation and use of the relevant documents.