The Badulla High Court today (28) sentenced Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Member of Parliament Chaminda Wijesiri to one-and-a-half years’ imprisonment in connection with charges including wrongful restraint, assault, causing injuries, issuing death threats to two police officers, and causing bodily harm in 2019.
The case was filed against MP Chaminda Wijesiri, his driver, and an officer attached to the Ministerial Security Division (MSD).
The court had previously found Chaminda Wijesiri and his driver Bandula Rathnayake guilty of four charges, while MSD police officer Rasika Karunathilaka was found guilty of three charges.
However, during the proceedings, the court was informed that accused Bandula Rathnayake had passed away.
It was revealed during the trial that the incident stemmed from an argument that allegedly occurred when MP Chaminda Wijesiri and his group were travelling in SUVs near the Bandarawela town roundabout on or around February 10, 2019, after a police jeep overtook his vehicle.
The prosecution alleged that the MP and his group obstructed the path of the police jeep that had overtaken them, issued death threats to the officers inside, and assaulted them, causing bodily injuries.
