UPDATE (09.54 PM): Former Minister Rajitha Senaratne, who was ordered to be remanded earlier, will be moved to Pallansena isolation centre in Negombo, the Commissioner General of Prisons stated.

The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court has ordered to remand former Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne until May 27.

Senaratne was placed under arrest after he surrendered to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) this evening (13) and subsequently brought before Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne.

Colombo High Court Judge Manjula Thilakaratne set aside the Colombo Magistrate’s decision when the Attorney General’s revision application against granting bail to the former minister over the controversial “white van” press conference, was taken up this morning.

The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court had subseuently ordered the CID to produce former minister before the court.

The former Health Minister was arrested last December and remanded over the controversial “white van” press conference organized by him in November, but he continued to receive treatment at the hospital. 

On December 30, Colombo Magistrate’s Court ordered to release Senaratne on bail. 

However, the Attorney General filed a revision application on January 08 challenging the decision of the Magistrate Court to grant bail to the former Health Minister.

The Attorney General, in his revision application, had pointed out that the Colombo Magistrate’s Court has not taken into consideration the submissions by the prosecution before delivering the verdict to release Senaratne on bail.