Former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to return to Sri Lanka from Singapore: Cabinet spokesman
Colombo(PTI): Sri Lanka's former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa is not in hiding and is expected to return to the country from Singapore, Cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said on Tuesday.
Rajapaksa, 73, fled Sri Lanka after the July 9 uprising when people broke into the President's House after months of public protests against him for mishandling the country's worst economic crisis since 1948.
Rajapaksa first fled to the Maldives on July 13 and from there he proceeded to Singapore the next day.
When asked about Rajapaksa at a weekly Cabinet media briefing, Cabinet Spokesman Gunawardena told reporters that the former president was not in hiding and he is expected to return from Singapore.
Gunawardena, who is also the Minister for Transport and Highways and Mass Media, said he does not believe the former president fled the country, and is in hiding.
He, however, did not offer any other details of Rajapaksa's possible return.
Singapore has granted a 14-day short-term visit pass to the former president as he entered the country on a "private visit" on July 14.
A spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Singapore earlier said that Rajapaksa has not asked for asylum and neither has he been granted any asylum.
Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has said that visitors from Sri Lanka who enter Singapore for social visits will generally be issued with a short-term visit pass (STVP) with a duration of up to 30 days.
Those who need to extend their stay in Singapore have to apply online for an extension of their STVP. Applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, said the ICA.
Meanwhile, commenting on the request made to the Singapore Attorney General to detain the Former Sri Lankan President, the Cabinet Spokesperson said that if there is a situation, the responsible officials in the country will take steps to ensure no harm is done to the former president, the Daily Mirror newspaper quoted Gunawardena as saying.
Lawyers from South Africa-based International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) have submitted a criminal complaint to the Attorney General of Singapore requesting the immediate arrest of Rajapaksa for war crimes.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa served as the defence secretary during his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa's tenure as president from 2005 to 2014.
Though dubbed as the war hero , his role in ending the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran in 2009 is quite divisive as he stands accused of violating human rights, a charge he vehemently denies.
The case was withdrawn when he was elected President in 2019 and acquired immunity from prosecution as the head of state. That immunity no longer applies now he has resigned from office. This is believed to be the first criminal complaint against him.
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Delhi: Teenager slashes boy for refusing money for drugs; held
New Delhi (PTI): A 16-year-old boy has been apprehended for allegedly attacking a teenager with a paper cutter near the Red Fort area last month after the victim refused to give him money for drugs, an official said on Tuesday.
The juvenile, who had been absconding after the incident, was also found to be involved in another attempt to murder case registered at Jama Masjid police station, they said.
The case came to light on April 5 when police received information from LNJP Hospital about a 17-year-old boy, a resident of Nangloi, who had been admitted with serious injuries.
The victim had sustained sharp wounds on his neck and abdomen and was unfit to give a statement, the police said.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that the victim quarrelled with an unidentified boy at Parade Ground near the Red Fort, following which he was attacked. A case under relevant sections of the BNS was registered.
A team was constituted to trace the accused, which analysed CCTV footage from the area and identified a suspect seen fleeing the spot. The boy was later identified with the help of local intelligence as a vagabond frequenting the Chandni Chowk area, police said.
Despite multiple raids in Delhi and adjoining areas, the accused remained untraceable. Subsequently, his mobile number was tracked, and technical surveillance led police to Haridwar in Uttarakhand.
On April 29, the police team conducted a raid in a village in Haridwar and apprehended the juvenile after sustained efforts, an officer said.
During questioning, the accused disclosed that he had been living in the Chandni Chowk area for the past two years and was addicted to drugs. On the night of April 4, he allegedly got into an argument with the victim after the latter refused to give him money and slapped him. Enraged, he attacked the boy with a paper cutter, inflicting multiple injuries.
The police said the accused later attacked another person near the Jama Masjid Metro Station on the same night before fleeing to Haridwar.
He also disposed of the weapon and clothes by throwing them from a moving train to evade arrest, they said.
Further investigation is underway, they added.
