Chirani Lakmanti Henarath Hettiarachchi, residing in Colombo 07 and wife of former Deputy Minister Sarana Gunawardena, has been remanded until October 6 by Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama. She was arrested this afternoon (25) by officers of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and produced before the court.
The arrest was made in connection with offering a bribe of Rs. 750,000 to Galagedara Arachchilage Charith Kumara, who previously served as an usher (Arachchila) at the Colombo High Court. The bribe was allegedly given to induce High Court Judge Rashantha Godawela to grant a suspended sentence in an ongoing bribery case against Sarana Gunawardena, who is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence.
complete with the court usher, who was arrested on September 22 in connection with the case, also remains in remand custody until October 6. Investigations have further identified a bookbinder from the High Court and an officer from the Attanagalla Court as accomplices in the scheme.
The investigation was launched following a complaint lodged by High Court Judge Rashantha Godawela himself.
Submitting a progress report to the court, the Bribery Commission disclosed evidence showing multiple financial transactions credited to the suspect usher’s bank account from parties associated with Sarana Gunawardena.
The scheme to secure a lenient sentence stems from a corruption case involving Sarana Gunawardena during his tenure as Chairman of the Development Lotteries Board (DLB). He was accused of defrauding Rs. 2 million by fraudulently transferring his wife’s house in Madiwela to another name without any necessity and leasing it back to the Development Lotteries Board.
