Court extends stay order against arresting Kurunegala Mayor

The Court of Appeal will announce its decision tomorrow (25) on whether or not to enforce the arrest warrants issued on the Mayor of Kurunegala and four others over the demolition of a historical building in Kurunegala

The Court today extended the stay order issued against arresting the five suspects and instructed the Police Department not to execute the arrest warrants until tomorrow (25).

Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal ordered not to arrest the Kurunegala Mayor and four others until today.

The Kurunegala Magistrate had earlier re-issued warrants against the Kurunegala Mayor and four others over the demolition of the historical building in Kurunegala in July.

The Kurunegala Magistrate had cited the failure of the Kurunegala Police to execute the warrants ordered to be issued last week on the suspects.

Attorney General (AG) Dappula de Livera had instructed Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) C.D. Wickremeratne to obtain a warrant from Court, arrest and produce the Mayor of Kurunegala Thushara Sanjeeva Witharana, Municipal Commissioner Nishantha Thilakaratne, Municipal Engineer Chaminda Bandara Adikari, Acting Director for the removal of illegal constructions Ilaludeen Zulfika, and operator of the Bako machine used for the demolition Lakshman Priyantha.

The 13th Century King?s Court of King Bhuvanaikabahu II in Kurunegala, dating back to the Kurunegala / Yapahuwa Kingdom Era, was allegedly demolished on 18 July by the Mayor of Kurunegala and officials from the Urban Development Authority disregarding warnings by the Archaeology Department.

The preliminary report of the committee appointed to investigate the demolition was handed over to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on 22 July, consisting of five proposals, including to institute legal action against those responsible for the demolition. (Colombo Gazette)