Police have questioned 10 employees of the Panadura Magistrate’s Court over the disappearance of two case files linked to organised crime and drug trafficking suspect Salindu Malsitha Gunaratne, alias “Kudu Salindu.”
Panadura Division Senior Superintendent of Police Nishan de Silva said investigators seek to determine how the files went missing from the court.
The investigation follows a complaint made by the court registrar to Panadura South Headquarters Police on Sept. 1.
The missing files concern a murder case allegedly linked to Kudu Salindu and a separate money laundering case filed by the Criminal Investigation Department, police said.
The disappearance came to light after the CID was unable to locate a report it had requested from the court in connection with one of the cases. The matter was subsequently postponed until Aug. 31 while efforts were made to locate the missing documents.
Preliminary inquiries indicate that the files had been given to an office assistant to make copies before they were placed in the court archives, according to police.
Investigators are now conducting further inquiries and are expected to examine CCTV footage from the court complex to establish who may have handled the files and when they disappeared.
The investigation is being conducted by the Panadura Division Crime Investigation Bureau under the direction of senior police officers in the division. (Newswire)
