The case filed against Gampaha District Parliamentarian Prasanna Ranatungaand his wife was yesterday fixed for further trial on February 1 by the Colombo High Court.
When the case came up before High Court Judge Manjula Tillekaratne, the defence counsel concluded cross-examining businessman Gehard Mendis, 54, the virtual complainant in the alleged extortion case. The prosecution will again lead evidence from the witness on next trial date as well.
The Attorney General (AG) had filed indictments against former Western Province Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga, his wife Maureen Ranatunga and another person on the charge of threatening a businessman, demanding the rest of the money out of Rs. 64 million.
On a previous occasion, the Colombo High Court decided to proceed with the trial against Gampaha District Parliamentarian Prasanna Ranatunga and his wife in absentia of the third accused Naresh Kumar Fareek, who was evading courts from the beginning of investigations. MP Prasanna Ranatunga and his wife are currently on bail.
The Attorney General filed indictments on 15 counts against three accused Prasanna Ranatunga, Maureen Ranatunga and Naresh Kumar Fareek on charges of committing offences between April 6, 2015 and June 2, 2015.
In addition, the AG has named 65 witnesses and included 35 articles as court productions against three accused in this case.
Deputy Solicitor General Thusith Mudalige appeared for the Attorney General. President’s Counsel Anil de Silva with senior counsel Mary Dickmon, counsel Mihiri Madushani and Visna Wijeratne appeared for the accused.
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