Mangala released after recording of statement ; 22 UNP P.C.

local body members and organizers arrested

(Lanka-e-News-07.Oct.2013, 1.00PM) While those who did the shooting were allowed to go scott free , those who were the victims of shooting were arrested in pursuit of the Medamulana hidden agenda. 22 individuals including UNP organizers and Mangala Samaraweera M.P. who were arrested at 7 police stations were remanded from 5th night until 6th morning according to reports reaching Lanka e news. Apart from these 22 who were remanded , 24 others of the conspiratorial Shiral-Maithri team

including Maithris father Herman Fernando were also remanded after they were produced before the Matara additional magistrate Manjula Karunaratne. The police made a request for an identification parade on these suspects . Though the police wanted those arrested to be remanded for 21 days , following the pleas made by the lawyers who arrived from from Colombo , they were remanded only until tomorrow. However Mangala Samarawera who was arrested prior was released after recording a statement of his at SSP Deshabandu Tennekoons office. The UNP divisional leaders who were remanded were : Devinuwara UNP organizer M.R. Wimalasiri, Habaraduwa UNP organizer and provincial council (PC) member Lionel Ipalawatte , Welipenna organizer PC member Gayan Sanjeewa, Matara Municipal council opposition leader Upul Nishantha , Matara Municipal council members Nalinda Abeygunawardena, Nuski Iqbal, and Matara local body opposition leader Lionel Kodikkara. A team of lawyers including Dinesh Dodamgoda and Upul Kumaraperuma appeared for this group and for those arrested. Those arrested among the other group were : Ms. Chinthika Lalani who contested the Matara MC at the last elections under UNP ticket. She had been arrested this early morning (8) at about 1.45 a.m. A number of police officers had arrived to arrest her , and no women police officer had accompanied them . Hence this is an absolutely unlawful act. Matara local body opposition leader lionel Kodikkara had been taken into custody at about 12. 15 a.m. when he was at his home . Chaminda who works in Mangala Samaraweeras office was taken into custody while he was at work in the office. Similarly , Dilshan who works in the UNP Matara office was arrested at 10.00 p.m. while Ushantha was arrested this early morning at 2.00 . These office workers had not participated in anything , and some others who were arrested had not even been in Matara district yesterday. It is learnt that they have been arrested based on a list furnished by a secretary of Dallas Alahaperuma. Mangala Samaraweera M.P. who made a statement to Lanka e news after his release said , based on a witch hunt , the UNP peoples representatives , organizers and activists of Matara district are being victimized and attacked . Even those who do his cooking and washing at his home and not knowing anything had been arrested unfairly. In some cases , the police have gone to their houses and broken down their doors . The regimes leaders have furnished a list of names to the police to arrest them before 6.00 a.m. Jaliya Jayawardena a party organizer was attacked by Maithri and Shiral brutally after putting him down , and these have all been clearly videotaped , yet none of them had been arrested , Mangala pointed out. Even a statement had not been recorded of Maithri or Shiral, Mangala added. Owing to the shooting by Herman Gunaratne, the father of Maithri who organized this conspiratorial march , a voluntary service soldier , Harsha Kumara of the army who was on his way to work had

fallen victim to the shooting. One side of his is now paralyzed because of this shooting , and since he is in a critical condition he has been transferred to Colombo hospital from Karapitiya hospital, according to reports. Going by this episode it is very clear that despite Maithri and Shiral Lakthileke being the architects at the bottom of all this violence using arms , no statements even have been recorded from them by the police . This alone amply testifies to how the lawless Rajapakses are enforcing their brutal laws which are worse than the savage Kekille Kings laws . Meanwhile opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and party general secretary Tissa Attanayake who went to see the hospitalized victims , also visited the venue of the magistrate where the group that was arrested were produced . Hereunder is tangible evidence of the violence : attackers with rods and clubs in the name of peace