A former Sri Lankan Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) is alleged to have covered up evidence in the case of murdered Tamil journalist Dharmeratnam “Taraki” Sivaram, reports The Sunday Leader.
Sarath Lugoda, the former DIG and the ex-director of the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD), is alleged to have concealed evidence that the murder may have been ordered from authorities high up in the Sri Lankan government, and released the main suspects accused of the assassination. The Sunday Leader says that he is to face questioning shortly.
Mr Lugoda responded by denying the allegations and stating that he “cannot remember exactly what happened to that case since it has been a long time now”.
“The police can only act according to the evidence available regarding the case and I was an independent police officer, these allegations are not true,” he added.
“What we want is that the murder case of Sivaram should be investigated seriously like Lasantha Wickrematunge’s and bring the criminals to book as soon as possible as it has been a decade and more since his murder,” said Sivaram’s brother-in-law, David Poopalapillai to The Sunday Leader.
“Ever since the new government took office and started fresh probe into serious crimes one after the other, we were waiting for a positive response in Sivaram’s murder probe as well.”
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