The Trincomalee Gun Site investigation has led to the arrest of two female Navy personnel over alleged abductions and disappearances.
COLOMBO — Two female Sri Lanka Navy personnel have been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department over allegations linked to the abduction and disappearance of two Tamil women who investigators say were detained at the “Gun Site” facility inside the Trincomalee Naval Base during the final phase of the war.
The suspects have been identified in reports as Lieutenant Commander Deepika Sandamali and Petty Officer Aruni Dinusha. They were arrested by officers investigating organised crime within the CID and produced before court.
Investigators are examining their alleged involvement in the disappearance of two women identified as Mary Delshiya and Sasikumar Thenmoli, described in the material submitted to The Morning Telegraph as cousins from the Trincomalee area.
According to the CID case presented in the source material, the two women were allegedly abducted in a white van on May 13, 2008, detained at the underground facility and subsequently disappeared.
Neither of the arrested Navy personnel has been convicted of the allegations.
The investigation relies in part on statements from former detainees and material previously submitted by investigators to court.
CID Court Reports Describe Women at Gun Site
The source material cites a police report submitted to the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court in 2018 as stating that investigators had uncovered information linking a naval special intelligence unit to the disappearance of the two women.
“Facts have been revealed that Mary Delshiya and Thenmoli, the two of them, were also abducted on 2008.05.13 by suspects and suspect women numbered 6, 7, 13 and 14 in this case, and that these two women have disappeared to date, and that this naval special intelligence unit is connected to it, and that the two victim women were in the Gansite cells,” the police report is quoted as stating.
The source further identifies Milla Withanachchige Kosala Chaminda and Polwatta Widanalage Sampath Janaka Kumara as other Navy personnel named by investigators in connection with the allegations.
A separate witness account cited in the court material describes two Tamil women, referred to as an elder and younger sister, being detained separately at the facility.
That witness reportedly identified several people who allegedly guarded detainees, including Sandamali and Kawus, and claimed that the two women were removed from their cell after two days and did not return.
These remain allegations contained in investigative and witness material before the courts.
Allegations of Abuse Under Investigation
CID material cited in the supplied report also contains allegations of physical, psychological and sexual abuse of detainees at the facility.
Investigators have reportedly recorded statements alleging that male detainees were removed from cells and subjected to sexual humiliation and abuse.
The allegations are serious, but they remain part of an ongoing criminal investigation. The arrest of a suspect does not establish criminal responsibility, and the evidence will ultimately be subject to the judicial process.
Reports concerning Gun Site have circulated for years.
A 2019 investigation by the International Truth and Justice Project described Gun Site as an underground detention facility within the Trincomalee Naval Base and compiled witness testimony alleging unlawful detention, torture and disappearances there.
Shantha Samaraweera Case Forms Part of Wider Inquiry
The CID is also investigating the disappearance of Ganeralalage Shantha Samaraweera, whose case has previously resulted in arrests of police and Navy personnel.
Samaraweera was taken into police custody in July 2010 and subsequently disappeared.
His family was reportedly told that he had escaped after being admitted to hospital. Investigators later obtained evidence indicating that he may instead have been detained at Gun Site.
A former detainee, Basnayaka Mudiyanselage Wijayakanth, reportedly told investigators that he encountered Samaraweera while detained at the Trincomalee facility.
CID investigations into Samaraweera’s disappearance have already resulted in several arrests over the past three years.
In December 2023, police officer Saman Kumara Dissanayake was arrested over allegations connected with Samaraweera’s detention and disappearance. Two other police personnel were arrested in 2024, while a Navy captain was taken into custody in November that year.
Former Navy Commander Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne was also arrested in July 2025 in connection with the investigation into Samaraweera’s disappearance.
Those proceedings remain separate from any determination of guilt.
Trincomalee 11 Case Also Linked to Gun Site
Gun Site also features prominently in the long-running investigation into the disappearance of 11 men abducted from Colombo and surrounding areas in 2008 and 2009.
Investigators have alleged that some of those victims were detained at the Trincomalee facility.
Former and serving Navy personnel have faced legal proceedings arising from that investigation over the years, while several aspects of the case have also been contested through higher courts.
The supplied copy names former Navy Commander Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda and former Navy Commander Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne in connection with the wider history of investigations. Their respective legal positions and proceedings should not be conflated with the allegations now being investigated against the two female Navy personnel.
The latest arrests therefore form part of a much broader series of investigations into alleged unlawful detention and disappearances associated with the Trincomalee Naval Base.
CID investigators are now examining whether the two arrested personnel can be linked to other alleged offences identified through witness testimony and earlier court records.
Any determination of criminal responsibility will depend on the evidence presented before the courts.
