Trinco govt. official remanded for loss of generators

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 March 2005, 18:48 GMT]
Mr.Nimal Dissanayake, Assistant Land Commissioner in the Trincomalee district secretariat was ordered remand by the Trincomalee District Judge and Additional Magistrate Mr.S.Thiagendran Wednesday in connection with the twelve generators missing from the land department store. The generators were a part of a consignment of goods donated by the Indian government to supply electricity to temporary shelters for tsunami refugees, legal sources said.

A special investigation unit of the Trincomalee Police arrested him on March 2nd on a tip off. Earlier a watcher and a peon of the Land Department Store in Trincomalee were arrested and remanded till March 7th, legal sources said.

An application for bail made on behalf of third suspect Mr.Nimal Dissanayake came up for inquiry before Trincomalee Magistrate Mr.M.Ganesharajah Thursday afternoon. Counsel appearing for the third suspect told court in support of the bail application that the Police has no power to arrest his client as his anticipatory bail application filed on March 01 is listed for hearing on March 11 in the Trincomalee court. Hence the arrest of his client by the Police on March 2 was illegal. Therefore his client should be given relief, Counsel Mr.D.Rupasinghe argued, legal sources said.

The Magistrate reserved the order on the bail application for March 7. All three suspects including Mr.Nimal Dissanayake are in remand and they will be produced in court on March 7th, legal sources said.