Challenges his critics to go to CC with their grievances

 Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) Ranga Dissanayake yesterday denied allegations that he had ever been a member of a political party. He dismissed the claims as an baseless attempt to undermine the credibility of the institution he was currently serving.

He said that it has been observed that some individuals and entities, acting with hidden agendas, were spreading false and misleading statements about the Commission.

Former JVP frontliner Nandana Gunathilaka, appearing on Hiru TV’s Balaya programme, alleged that Dissanayake had once served on the JVP’s legal committee.

Rejecting the charge, Dissanayake said, “In 2004, I became a Magistrate. In 2020, I was appointed a High Court judge. In 2025, I assumed this position. If I had been involved in active politics, I would not have been eligible to serve as a judge.”

He said that Gunathilaka had two decades to raise such a concern and urged him to file a complaint with the Judicial Service Commission if he believed a former JVP politburo member had sat on the bench. “I have never been a member of such a committee. If this allegation is made, it must be proven. This is a strange culture where an accusation is made, and the accused is expected to prove their innocence,” he said.

Dissanayake also challenged Gunathilaka and Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader Udaya Gammanpila to take their grievances to the Constitutional Council instead of airing them in the media.Responding to claims linking him to a travel ban on former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran, he said he had no recollection of any such thing.

by Chaminda Silva