Attempt Being Made to Label Suspicious Deaths as Suicides, Claims Prasad Siriwardena

21-Jul-2026

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Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Gampaha District MP Prasad Siriwardena has called for an investigation into the individual who first circulated reports claiming that former Inspector General of Police (IGP) C.D. Wickramaratne had died by suicide, alleging that there is a growing trend of classifying suspicious deaths as suicides in an attempt to close investigations.

He made these remarks while addressing the media following an event held in Colombo on July 20.

The MP said the reports suggesting that the former IGP had died by suicide originated from sections of the media and not from the police or the courts.

"Neither the police investigations nor the court has concluded that this was a suicide. Therefore, the first priority should be to identify who informed the media that the former IGP had taken his own life," he said.

Siriwardena stated that it was difficult to accept the claim that a person who had served as the country's Inspector General of Police had died by suicide due to mental stress.

"The deceased's family has stated that he was not facing any serious personal difficulties that could have driven him to such an act. Against that backdrop, it is unacceptable to categorise this death as a suicide," he added.

He further alleged that, in recent times, several key witnesses and suspects connected to major criminal investigations had died under mysterious circumstances, and that there appeared to be attempts to close such case files by attributing those deaths to suicide.