Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Namal Rajapaksa, the elder son of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, is being kept under regular prison routines with some special arrangements after being remanded last week, a prison official said on Monday. Security around his cell at the Colombo Remand Prison has been tightened, while his request for home-cooked food has been allowed and he has been permitted three visitors a day.
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Rajapaksa, 40, was arrested on September 4 by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and was remanded till September 18 by a Colombo magistrate. He was questioned for more than five hours on Friday before being arrested in connection with an alleged USD 800,000 corruption case linked to the purchase of wide-bodied Airbus aircraft for SriLankan Airlines during his father’s presidency.
Prison spokesman Senaka Pallewatta said the arrangements in prison included stronger security around Rajapaksa’s cell. Rajapaksa, who leads the opposition Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna in Parliament, was visited by his father on Saturday and by his mother, Shiranthi Rajapaksa, on Monday.
His arrest is the first remand of a member of the former first family since the National People’s Power government came to power two years ago. The SLPP has sought permission for Rajapaksa to attend Parliament, with Chief Opposition Whip Gayantha Karunathilleka asking Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne to direct prison authorities to escort him to the legislature, as the House is scheduled to meet for four days from Tuesday.
The SLPP has alleged that the case against Rajapaksa is politically motivated and has linked his remand to the party’s plans to hold a major anti-government rally in Anuradhapura on September 12. The party has claimed that the government is trying to disrupt the rally and weaken the opposition’s campaign.
Members of the Rajapaksa family have faced other allegations of wrongdoing as well, which the family has described as politically motivated. His cousin, Shashindra Rajapaksa, is currently out on bail after being remanded earlier this year. The developments around Namal Rajapaksa now include his remand in the alleged Airbus-linked corruption case, special prison arrangements, and the opposition’s push to have him attend Parliament.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
