Colombo, Oct 13 The elder son and wife of former Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa were remanded in further custody in their respective cases by the magistrate’s court on Tuesday.
Namal Rajapaksa, who has been in custody since September 4, was further remanded till October 27, while his mother, Shiranthi Rajapaksa, will remain in custody till October 16.
Rajapaksa’s younger son Yoshitha also had a court date in a case related to irregular recruitment to the Sri Lanka Navy in 2007.
Shiranthi’s lawyer told the court that she was scheduled for open-heart surgery today. However, when the court verified the claim, it found that no surgery was planned for today.
On Monday, she had been transferred from the prison hospital to the Colombo National Hospital’s cardiology unit for a suspected heart ailment.
She was arrested on October 7 for alleged misappropriation of LKR 10 million at a charity she headed prior to 2015.
Namal is accused of accepting a bribe in the purchase of an Airbus aircraft for SriLankan Airlines and another bribe case involving the Krish Hotels project in Colombo, an Indian investment.
Meanwhile, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was admitted to a hospital in Colombo on Monday for urgent medical care, remains in hospital.
The 80-year-old served as president from 2005 to 2015, while his younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to resign as president in 2022 following mass protests amid Sri Lanka’s economic crisis.
(PTI News)
