Chaminda Wijesiri Sentenced to 1.5 Years in Prison

COLOMBO (News 1st): Parliamentarian Chaminda Wijesiri has been sentenced to one and a half years in prison. 

The sentence was imposed in connection with charges including unlawful obstruction and threatening two police officers. 

The case filed in the Badulla High Court against Parliamentarian Chaminda Wijesiri, his driver, and a police officer from the ministerial security division was taken up before Badulla High Court Judge Jayaram Trotsky. 

Delivering the verdict, the judge ruled that the two defendants, Chaminda Wijesiri and driver Bandula Rathnayake, were guilty on four charges, and police officer Rasika Karunathilaka of the ministerial security service was guilty on three charges. 

However, it was revealed in court that driver Bandula Rathnayake has since died. 

According to evidence presented during the trial, the incident originated from an alleged altercation on or around the afternoon of February 10, 2019, near the roundabout in Bandarawela town. The dispute reportedly began after MP Chaminda Wijesiri and others were traveling in jeeps when his jeep was overtaken by a police jeep.