Former Minister Jeevan Thondaman, accused alongside his supporters of storming a Nuwara Eliya tea factory, insists the case is politically motivated and urges authorities to focus on the President’s unfulfilled promise to raise estate workers’ salaries.
The Nuwara Eliya Magistrate’s Court today (September 4) heard the case related to the violent entry into the Peeduru Tea Factory belonging to the Kelani Weli Estate Company. Former Minister of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure, Jeevan Kumaravel Thondaman, and his supporters were present in court. Magistrate Prabuddhika Lankangani ordered the case to be taken up again on January 26, 2026, pending analysis of CCTV footage submitted by the government.
The case, filed by the Estate Authority, alleges that on May 30, 2024, Thondaman, then serving as Cabinet Minister, along with a group of supporters, forcibly entered the factory and behaved in a riotous manner, even confining its officials. The key suspects include Thondaman, Ceylon Workers’ Congress Vice President Palani Shakthivel, and former Nuwara Eliya Pradeshiya Sabha President Velu Yogaraj. Ten names, including current Deputy Mayor of Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council Sivan Jyoti Yogaraja, have already been presented to the court.
Speaking to the media after proceedings, Thondaman strongly denied wrongdoing, claiming the case was filed because they spoke out against the Estate Authority’s treatment of workers. “We are not the ones involved in corruption and fraud. This is political retaliation,” he stated.
Thondaman added that instead of targeting estate leaders, authorities should focus on the President’s unfulfilled promise to increase the daily wages of estate workers by Rs. 2,000. “If the President is questioned on this, it will bring relief to the innocent estate workers who are struggling,” he said.
The case has once again drawn attention to the long-standing wage issues in Sri Lanka’s plantation sector, with workers and unions demanding that the government deliver on long-promised pay hikes.
