The CID’s arrest of two Deputy Controllers from the Department of Immigration and Emigration for issuing fake passports to criminals underscores its inconsistencies in handling similar past offenses.
Under DIG Rohan Premaratne’s supervision, the investigation recently led to the arrest of a serving and a former Deputy Controller for creating passports with fictitious details for two underworld criminals named Nuresh Supun Dayaratne alias ‘Heenatiyana Mahesh’ and Shan Arosh Liyanage alias ‘Mathugama Shan’ based on false information
This incident reflects a pattern of legal breaches within the department, reminiscent of a 2014 case, where Sri Lanka Rugby faced a hefty penalty from World Rugby for the unauthorized passport issuance to Fijian nationals to represent Sri Lanka, when the current Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa was the country’s national rugby football skipper.
Incidentally MP Namal Rajapaksa’s father Mahinda Rajapaksa was the then President of Sri Lanka.
T’was a national disgrace – Even the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa probably hid his face in shame.
In that incident, Fijian nationals Joseph Dunn, Waqavulagi Emori and Apisai Naqaliva were those who were issued Sri Lankan passports by officials attached to the Department of Immigration and Emigration when SLR was headed by its President Asanga Seneviratne.
Despite this offense being non-bailable, till today not a single arrest has been made regarding this committed passport fraud.
Nevertheless, World Rugby finding SLR guilty went on to slap its member a hefty fine of Sterling Pounds 50,000.
Due to its inability to pay the fine, World Rugby subsequently took it off the development budget that it had set aside for SLR.
SLR President (2014) Asanga Seneviratne and SLR Secretary (2014) and current SLR Deputy President Rtd. Group Captain Nalin De Silva
Meanwhile, a top SLR official, when contacted for a quote and speaking on condition of anonymity said ” Yes, I recall that incident. That was when SLR President Asanga Seneviratne was polishing Namal’s apples when he was captain of the national side. Asanga was trying to beef up the national side to help Sri Lanka win at any cost since Namal was the captain. I think Minister Harin Fernando should look into these things now and get officials of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) attached to the Ministry of Sports to investigate this matter too. He should bar those responsible from holding any office in any capacity until such investigations are over.”
