Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure Samantha Vidyarathna has accused Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Director General for Community Affairs, of illegally acquiring 18 acres of land belonging to the Department of Wildlife and Forest Conservation.

Addressing the media yesterday, Minister Vidyarathna said several complaints had been received from various parties, including environmentalists, regarding a racket involving land at the Bogahapelessa Forest Reserve, which was gazetted in 2013. 

Stating that the forest reserve belongs to both the Badulla and Monaragala Districts, Minister Vidyarathna said complaints had been received on the illegal acquisition of land and an unlawful electricity project in the area. 

He revealed that it had been found that a group had obtained 5482 acres of land in the area by giving instructions to officials without handing over proper documentation. 

“According to the project report, the land had been obtained by an individual identifying himself as K.T. Ranjith. We launched a probe to find this individual. It was found that he had used a fake NIC number for this purpose,” he said. 

Minister Vidyarathna said a probe into the NIC had found that it had an extra digit, and the original belonged to Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, who served as former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Director General for Community Affairs.

“This K.T. Ranjith is Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, the former governor. Now it is evident who is behind this racket. These people have also obtained high-voltage power lines,” he said. 

Minister Vidyarathna e said as a solution to this issue, it has been decided to grant electricity supply to the Unakanda Village in the area, assuring that the racketeers will not be given an opportunity to benefit from this. 

His comments come after it was found that 18 acres of land at the Bogahapelessa Forest Reserve had been fraudulently acquired and that the CEB had approved a power project in the area at a cost of Rs. 120 million after receiving orders from the then President’s Secretary. (Newswire)

Minister Samantha Vidyarathna has accused former Governor Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon of illegally acquiring forest land through the use of forged documents and falsified information pic.twitter.com/w8TAG7vjIM

— NewsWire (@NewsWireLK) January 10, 2025

The post Former Governor accused of illegal land & power racket appeared first on Newswire.

The Police have busted a racket on the robbery of external parts of air conditioners installed at various institutions and houses in Colombo, it was reported.

Operated by a three-member gang, the racket was busted following the arrest of the suspects, who were in possession of a locally manufactured hand grenade and a stolen three-wheeler used to carry out the robberies. 

The Maligawatte Police revealed that 15 air conditioners, equipment used to steal the air conditioners, a three-wheeler, and 10 grams of heroin were seized from the suspects’ possession.

The racket was busted after investigations were launched into complaints of the theft of air conditioners from two supermarkets.

The Maligawatte Police said the arrest of an individual with 10 grams of heroin had led to the uncovering of the air conditioner racket. (NewsWire)

The post Colombo air conditioner theft racket busted appeared first on Newswire.

A supporting actor in several popular local TV dramas and films is among three persons arrested over a foreign employment racket in Sri Lanka, it was reported. 

According to Daily News, the suspects had obtained money between Rs. 500,000 to Rs. 2 million from the public promising overseas employment in Italy.

The suspects were arrested on Monday (Nov 06) by officers of the Panadura Walana Police Anti-Corruption Task Force.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the supporting actor is reported to have worked at several media organizations and owned media Identity cards issued by the said organizations. 

He is reported to have defrauded the public by displaying fake Italian visas and air tickets that had been created on the computer. 

Investigations have also revealed that the supporting actor had acted as the head of the employment agency, while the other two had operated as his accomplices. 

Further investigations are being conducted by the Police. (NewsWire)

The post Actor & accomplices arrested over foreign employment racket appeared first on Newswire.