Psychological Autopsy Needed Into Ranga Rajapaksa’s Death – Shiral Lakthilaka

04-May-2026

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Attorney-at-law Shiral Lakthilaka has called for a psychological autopsy into the death of Ranga Nishantha Rajapaksa, the Assistant Director of the Foreign Resources Department, who had been suspended in connection with the transfer of USD 2.5 million of Treasury funds to third parties.

Lakthilaka, Coordinator of the “Victory South” organisation, made this statement during a media briefing held in Colombo on May 2.

He said the Finance Ministry Secretary allegedly concealing information for four months regarding the USD 2.5 million fraud raises serious suspicion.

He acknowledged that the panel of judicial medical officers has officially declared the death as suicide, but added that Sri Lanka has a troubling history regarding medical reports on suicides and suspicious deaths. He recalled that similar official reports were issued in the Thajudeen case, which later proved inaccurate.

Lakthilaka stated that while the postmortem report is important, medical science includes a next step known as a psychological autopsy. He urged the President and the Health Minister to initiate such an inquiry.

He explained that a psychological autopsy examines three main aspects: the cause of suicide, the mental condition of the deceased, and the circumstances surrounding the death, including events leading up to it.

Referring to MP Harsha de Silva’s statement, he described the incident as theft and said the four-month delay in disclosure by the Finance Secretary remains suspicious. He suggested that forces beyond the deceased official’s own actions may have contributed to the situation and that the suicide may have occurred under a belief that he was being blamed unfairly.

He stressed that if such a mistake occurred repeatedly, the real cause must be identified, including who created the circumstances leading to the death.