…. her husband and son, too, apprehended
People’s Action for Free and Fair Election (PAFFREL) yesterday (6) said that the arrest of NPP member of Peliyagoda Urban Council Disna Niranjala for dealing in heroin should prompt the ruling party to initiate a thorough internal inquiry.
Having accused other political parties of being involved in the narcotics trade, the NPP couldn’t turn a blind eye to the their Urban Councillor’s arrest, PAFFREL Chief Rohana Hettiarachchci said.
The civil society activist pointed out that the Anuradhapura police arrested the local government politician and her husband, 54, who is the principal of Katiyawe school in the Eppawela area, and their son.
The school principal has been remanded till Nov 12 by the Thambuttegama Magistrate Gayathri Hettiarachchi yesterday pending further investigations.
The police identified Niranjala as a relative of gangster and notorious narcotics dealer Kosgoda Sujee.
Over a kilo of heroin with a street value of well over 20 mn rupees had been recovered.
The issue at hand is whether the principal used the school as a heroin distribution point, Hettiarachchi said, adding that there hadn’t been a previous instance of a Principal being arrested on dealing in narcotics. Hettiarachchi also noted that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently launched a high-profile campaign against the drugs trade at an event held at the Sugathadasa International Stadium where he warned those who engaged in narcotics to give up or face the consequences.
The initial breakthrough had been made by the Ippologama police who arrested a youth carrying a small quantity of heroin. The suspect held at the police station had told a friend who visited him to remove a parcel of heroin from his home and bury it near a tank close to his home. Subsequently, the suspect had told his father to retrive that parcel as he feared his friend may steal it and to hide behind their home.
According to police, the suspect’s father had done so but police apprehended the suspect’s friend and he revealed how he retrieved the parcel and handed it back to the father who happened to be a principal.
Hettiarachchi said that over a decade ago the March 12 Movement campaigned to discourage political parties from giving nominations to those involved in nefarious activities. “We were not only concerned about narcotics but felt the urgent need to have political parties implement an action plan to clean up the setup. Unfortunately, no political party took our suggestion seriously,” Hettiarachchi said.
Hettiarachchi pointed out that both in and outside parliament the circumstances of Lasantha Wickremesekera, the murdered Chairman of Weligama Pradeshiya sabha secured SJB nomination at the last local government poll received media attention. Warushavithana Mirantha who was killed this week at Ambalangoda was later identified as a defeated SJB candidate, hence the need to introduce a screening process not only for those seeking entry into politics but current people’s representatives.
By Shamindra Ferdinando 