by Our Correspondent in Colombo
An identification parade involving former Navy Commander Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne was unexpectedly cancelled last week after a former senior LTTE intelligence operative brought in by investigators failed to understand or respond to questions posed in Sinhala by the Magistrate, according to local media reports.
The witness, identified as “Barathi,” a former deputy intelligence leader of the LTTE in Trincomalee, was brought by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to identify Admiral Ulugetenne in connection with an attempted murder investigation. However, during the identification parade held in Polgahawela Magistrate’s Court, Barathi was unable to utter a single word in Sinhala—a critical issue that led to the collapse of the entire procedure.
Ironically, Barathi’s written statement to the CID was recorded in Sinhala, raising serious questions about the integrity of the process. There was no mention of a translator in the official documentation, prompting legal and ethical concerns regarding how the statement was obtained.
Despite the identification parade being invalidated, the Magistrate stated that bail could not be granted due to the gravity of the charges—attempted murder. The legal team representing Admiral Ulugetenne must now apply to the High Court for bail, prolonging the legal uncertainty surrounding the case.
Military sources have identified Barathi as a key operative involved in one of the most chilling assassination plots during Sri Lanka’s civil war. He allegedly helped assemble a fish lorry packed with 1,080 kilograms of C-4 explosives intended to reach Colombo in June 2008. Intelligence reports indicate the explosives were designed to target the Presidential Secretariat during a scheduled Security Council meeting.
If successful, the attack could have wiped out Sri Lanka’s top leadership at the time—including then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, and other key security officials.
On June 29, 2008, Navy intelligence operatives in Trincomalee intercepted the suspicious vehicle in Nilaveli. The lorry was taken to the Trincomalee Naval Base, where the bomb was safely defused at the Coral Cove Firing Range by then-Captain Piyal De Silva, a U.S.-trained explosives expert and Commanding Officer of SLNS Sayura. His actions likely prevented one of the most devastating attacks in the country’s history.
