Thirty-five houses built for families of Sri Lanka’s ‘War Heroes’ were presented to recipients during a formal ceremony at the Defence Services College in Colombo on Monday.

The general secretary of Bodu Bala Sena Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara has handed himself in to Sri Lankan police in Colombo, after a warrant was issued for his arrest earlier this week.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jaylalithaa called on the Indian prime minster not to be a “mute spectator” after the Sri Lankan navy arrested another group of Indian fishermen this week.

"India cannot continue to be seen as a mute spectator as the rights of Indian fishermen are repeatedly infringed upon," said Ms Jayalalithaa, calling for the fishermen issue needs to be placed at the top of the agenda in any interaction with Sri Lanka."

"This is a livelihood issue of thousands of our fisherfolk and is taking on a huge social and political dimension," she added.

The Sri Lankan government interviewed 14 applicants for the post of hangman today, amidst calls for the abolition of the death penalty on the island.

Sri Lanka’s Housing and Construction Minister Sajith Premadasa said there is “no such thing” as a hybrid court being implemented on the island and vowed to “safeguard our motherland”.

Sri Lanka’s justice minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said though a moratorium on the death penalty is in place, the decision has not been made to scrap capital punishment.

Speaking to The Sunday Leader he denied capital punishment had been scrapped but said “the Foreign Ministry is considering voting for the moratorium this year also”.

The European Union recently called for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide and welcomed Sri Lanka’s stand on the moratorium.

However, the government is set to interview candidates to fill the post of hangman this week, with the gallows at Welikada prison reportedly undergoing refurbishment.

Sri Lanka’s President Maithriapala Sirisena stated last month that he was expecting to approve capital punishment on the island by next year but, though he did not have to, would seek parliamentary approval first.

The Indian government has demanded an investigation into reports that an official from the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) solicited “sexual favours” from Tamil war widows in return for houses from an Indian government-funded project.

The Indian Express reported that Indian foreign ministry officials were taking the matter “extremely seriously” and called for a joint probe with the SLRCS. Instructions were also passed on to the Sri Lankan foreign ministry to prevent the accused individual from leaving.

“We don’t want the accused officials to escape, so the Sri Lankan foreign ministry and their immigration authorities have been informed,” an Indian official said.

“India will not condone any such activity by any of the implementing partners of this project. The Government of India – through its High Commission in Colombo and the consulate in Jaffna – is conducting a joint probe along with the Sri Lankan Red Cross officials,” said an Indian High Commission spokesperson. Another diplomat told the Indian Express that the report would be investigated “expeditiously and thoroughly” and there was “no time-frame”.

The probe comes after the Sunday Times reported SLRCS Kilinochchi Branch Secretary Thampu Sethupathy had received more than 30 written and verbal complaints with similar allegations of demands for sexual favours.