by Sonali Samarasinghe
* President goes with Mervyn to retain Denzil Gunaratne PC for Malaka
* DIG goes with Mervyn to Malaka`s lawyer`s house to discuss charge sheet
* Police blasted by Mahinda for not helping Mervyn
* Defence Advisor castigated by President for recommending justice
* Mervyn meets Magistrate`s husband to fix case unsuccessfully
* Mervyn orders police to downplay injuries in report
* OIC Bamba sidelined after getting remand order and case taken over by DIG
* Neurologist who secured doctorate for Mervyn gives MC to Malaka
* Claudia says Malaka pulled her by the hand and she resisted
While the country watched in disgust, Labour Minister Mervyn Silva was last week seen making desperate attempts to intimidate and influence the prisons, the judiciary and the police to subvert the course of justice on behalf of his son Malaka. The 31 year old Malaka is the Private Secretary to the Labour Minister and therefore together with his father an official of government being sustained by the public of this country.
Shockingly Silva`s intimidatory tactics was to receive ample side support from none other than the highest in the land, the politically insecure President
Mahinda Rajapakse - a man who would do the most despicable to keep his job. And the tale that we are to unfold will shock even the most ardent of Rajapakse loyalists if nothing else for the mere attempts to subvert the due process of law.
Silva and Rajapakse go a long way. It was Silva as a young, unemployed village lad in those days who was to help Rajapakse in his political campaign in Beliatte in 1970. When Rajapakse took office in November 2005, it was again Silva who felt it his duty to erect a massive billboard at the eye hospital roundabout naming Rajapakse the country`s next Dutugemunu. Earlier Silva himself claimed he was a descendent of Dutugemunu.
Last Thursday at about 11.30 p.m Mervyn`s son Malaka and 10 of his friends and body guards were to set upon 37 year old Chaminda Senasinghe, an accountant who had only a month back returned from the
United States to serve his country, at the Bistro Latino Restaurant and Salsa Bar, allegedly ramming the butt of a 9 mm gun in his face and assaulting him mercilessly as he fell to the ground.
While the country watched in disgust, Labour Minister Mervyn Silva was last week seen making desperate attempts to intimidate and influence the prisons, the judiciary and the police to subvert the course of justice on behalf of his son Malaka.
The 31 year old Malaka is the Private Secretary to the Labour Minister and therefore together with his father an official of government being sustained by the public of this country.
Shockingly Silva`s intimidatory tactics was to receive ample side support from none other than the highest in the land, the politically insecure President Mahinda Rajapakse - a man who would do the most despicable to keep his job. And the tale that we are to unfold will shock even the most ardent of Rajapakse loyalists if nothing else for the mere attempts to subvert the due process of law.
Silva and Rajapakse go a long way. It was Silva as a young, unemployed village lad in those days who was to help Rajapakse in his political campaign in Beliatte in 1970. When Rajapakse took office in November 2005, it was again Silva who felt it his duty to erect a massive billboard at the eye hospital roundabout naming Rajapakse the country`s next Dutugemunu. Earlier Silva himself claimed he was a descendent of Dutugemunu.
Last Thursday at about 11.30 p.m Mervyn`s son Malaka and 10 of his friends and body guards were to set upon 37 year old Chaminda Senasinghe, an accountant who had only a month back returned from the United States to serve his country, at the Bistro Latino Restaurant and Salsa Bar, allegedly ramming the butt of a 9 mm gun in his face and assaulting him mercilessly as he fell to the ground.
Ex-girl friend
The provocation seemed to be that Senasinghe had arrived at the Bistro for dinner together with a recent acquaintance of his, Claudia Kreussler. Claudia had been by all accounts an ex-girl friend of Malaka`s. And therein lies the rub.
As the wheels of justice started to turn on Malaka, a well known club bully with a track record known to both the police and the public at large, Minister Mervyn Silva went on a rampage of intimidation.
Jayewardenepura Hospital
On Monday (10) early morning, Dr. Asoka Jayasena, a consultant at the Jayewardenepura Government Hospital (SJGH) was to receive several calls repeatedly to his mobile phone from Mervyn Silva. However Jayasena was in the operating theatre and according to eye witnesses had been unable to answer the calls.
For Mervyn there was a real urgency. His son`s case was being heard that very morning and he was determined to `get to the judge` before the case was taken up in open court.
Not giving up, at about 9.30 a.m Mervyn rushed over to the hospital and went straight to see Dr. D.D.Ranasinghe, the chairman of the SJGH and asked to somehow speak to Dr. Jayasena. Ranasinghe was appointed chairman by Rajapakse on the insistence of Dr. Ranawaka, a well known confidant and advisor to the President.
Attempting to influence the judiciary
Thus Ranasinghe willingly escorted the government Minister to Jayasena`s ward and it did not take a second before Mervyn was to barge in to the theatre and speak to Jayasena. He entreated the doctor in front of several witnesses to prevail upon his wife Aishanee Jayasena, Chief Magistrate at the Mount Lavinia Courts not to take any action against his son and to go easy on him.
However Aishanee Jayasena, a tough judge is well known to take a dim view of such tactics and had in any event moved the case from her court due to a conflict of interest.
Intimidating the police
Trying to quickly cover all his bases and in his twisted mind thinking he had covered the judiciary, Mervyn was to now rush to the Colpetty police station. Between 10.30 and 11a.m Mervyn Silva in full view of several members of the public and other police officers was to barge into the Colpetty police station lobby.
He was to speak to ASP Palitha Siriwardena and tell him loudly in the presence of civilians and other officers that the police must down play the incident and state that it was a case of simple hurt where minor injuries had been suffered, when preparing their police report.
ASP Siriwardena had than according to witnesses reasoned with Mervyn stating the police had done everything they could possibly do. Silva had gone ballistic shouting `Thamusela Janadhipathi kiyana de wath karanna be, Mama Araliya Gaha Mandirayata den yanawa, Mama Janadhipathita kiyanawa.` (You people don`t even carry out orders given by the President. I`m going to Temple Trees now, I am going to tell the President).
By now the President was also fully involved in the drama pulling punches to get Malaka off the hook.
MR as junior lawyer
That night Mahinda Rajapakse casting security aside was to accompany Mervyn Silva to President`s Counsel Denzil Gunaratne`s chambers for a consultation. Gunaratne was appointed a PC by Rajapakse and it was the President himself who was to arrange Gunaratne as counsel for Malaka. The President and Gunaratne go back a long way and has represented him personally in several cases including the Helping Hambantota matter.
In fact it was Gunaratne who on behalf of Rajapakse spoke to the late K.C. Kamalasabayson PC, former Attorney General and advised him to resign prematurely, a fact the then Attorney General confirmed to this newspaper at the time.
But more sinister moves were already being made. The case which was being handled by the Bambalapitiya police was now taken away to be handled directly by DIG Colombo, Rohan Abeywardena though for forms sake it was kept within the jurisdiction of the Bambalapitiya police.
The plan was that the DIG would ensure the case came under a charge of simple hurt and the B report detail only minor injuries to the victim. Abeywardena was to also ensure that there would be no mention of a weapon used and therefore no charges under the Firearms Ordinance could be filed thereby literally letting the club bully Malaka get bail as a matter of course.
Abeywardena who was due to retire last Friday (14) was expected by his masters to set the stage for such a scenario as perhaps his last Hurrah before retirement.
`Apey miniha`
And by now President Rajapakse had girded up his loins and was willing to get his hands dirty as well. He was to call up the Colpetty police from Temple Trees and blast them right royally. `What are you people trying to do to me,` he said. `Mervyn ape miniha` he said. Scolding the police he also said that at a time 11-12 members wanted to leave, he did not want Mervyn to leave as well.
It was not that Rajapakse did not have wiser counsel. M.D. Fernando, one of his presidential advisors on defence was to call him and entreat him to desist from hasty action. He told the President that the police by taking a tough, independent stand had saved him, the country and the reputation of the police. Fernando was to ask the President what he thought Mervyn had done to help him and had also told him that letting justice take its course was a good thing and would enhance his popularity.
Mahinda Rajapakse had been visibly angry saying `What do these people know what is good for me, I know what is good for me.` The President was to later slam the telephone and tell those in his presence Fernando was out of touch with reality. Pulling all the strings available, Mervyn had also spoken to Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse seeking help but to his credit, the Defence Secretary opted not to twist the arm of the police to subvert justice.
OIC Bamba kicked out
But by this time the cancer had already started to spread. Mervyn had told DIG Abeywardena not to send...
