(Lanka-e-News- 02.April.2015, 11.45PM) The remains of Ranaweera Kaluarachige Noel Ranaweera (36) , the translator and personal secretary of Udayanga Weeratunge the ex ambassador of Russia and relative of ex president Mahinda Rajapakse is to be exhumed from the place of his burial at Welikadamulla cemetery on the 2 nd - nine months after his death. Udayanga Weeratunge is the ex ambassador against whom there are charges of supplying arms to rebels in Ukraine and a partner in Gotabaya’s illicit arms deals. He is at the moment gone missing.
The relatives of Noel Ranaweera are harboring suspicions that Noel was murdered by Udayanga as the former was aware of the illicit weapon deals of Udayanga . Noel ‘s mother Josephine Nona had therefore made an application to the Attanagala magistrate court , and the Magistrate M Y.M. Irshadeen had granted her request to exhume the body.
Udayanga Weeratunge had informed the family of Ranaweera that the latter died in a vehicle accident on the night of 2014- 06-11 in south of Russia. The relatives said , the remains of Ranaweera was flown to Colombo ,Sri Lanka (SL) on 2014. 06.15. The body was taken to a funeral parlor , and the relatives revealed there was a huge bruise on Ranaweera’s neck. Udayanga had at that time told Ranaweera ‘s relatives that as all the post mortem examinations had been already conducted in Russia , further examination in Sri Lanka is not necessary. This statement of Udayanga had triggered their suspicions , the relatives of Ranaweera disclosed. Since that day until the body was interred on the 18 th of June 2014 , Weeratunge and his group have had stayed put in the funeral house .
The mother of the deceased has lodged a complaint with the Attanagala police on the 22 nd of March, as she could not garner any information under the last government .
Noel Ranawera residing at 112 , Welikadamulla, Nittambuwa was invited on 2002-07-21 by Udayanga to Ukraine to work in the Rest house , ‘Laklab Lankala’ run by Udayanga. Subsequently , when Udayanga was appointed as the Ambassador , Noel was given employment in the embassy office.
It has also come to light that after obtaining monies from Ranaweera , Udayanga had maintained a joint bank account with the former .Meanwhile , when the CHOGM conference was held in SL in 2013 , Noel along with a group of 60 arrived here from Russia for a trade conference held about the same time as the CHOGM . In the death certificate it was mentioned that Noel Ranaweera died of chest injuries.
A Lanka deepa newspaper reporter revealed, at that time when Udayanga was questioned in his house at Nittambuwa about the doubts surrounding the death of Ranaweera , Udayanga Weeratunge was evasive in his answers and simply replied that all the post mortem examinations were done in Russia duly.
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by (2015-04-03 09:43:12)
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