Former MP J. Sri Ranga arrested

Former MP J. Sri Ranga was arrested today for influencing witnesses over an accident in Vavuniya in 2011, police said.

Earlier , the Vavuniya High Court judge issued a warrant to arrest and present the former MP Sri Ranga to court for influencing and intimidating the witnesses in a case pending in the Vavuniya High Court regarding the death of a police sergeant who died in an accident near the Settikulam hospital in Vavuniya on 30 July 2011.

The vehicle had collided head-on with a tree on the side of the road killing the police sergeant who was the MP’s bodyguard.

After the accident, the former MP had given a statement saying that the vehicle was driven by the police sergeant.

However, investigations later revealed that the vehicle was driven by the MP.

It was revealed that the former MP made phone calls to two people who had given evidence in relation to a case and tried to influence them.

Accordingly, the former MP was arrested while receiving treatment at the Colombo South Teaching Hospital today, police said