Making explosive revelations in court last week, the Criminal Investigation Department said the man who used to be Secretary to former Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda had admitted to having the knowledge that young boys were being detained at the Gun Site prison inside the Sri Lanka Navy’s Eastern Command HQ in Trincomalee.
Reporting progress on the investigation into the 11 youths believed to have been abducted for ransom by Navy personnel in 2008, the CID told the Fort Magistrate that Rear Admiral (Rtd) Shermal Fernando had finally admitted to have got the information about the detainees from Sampath Moonesinghe himself, personal security officer to Commander Karannagoda who is also implicated in the abduction racket.
OIC of the Gang Robbery Unit of the CID, Nishantha Silva informed court that Fernando had on a previous occasion denied such knowledge but had changed his statement on September 17 on the basis that he was now a retired Navy officer.
Fernando had informed the CID that while he was serving as the secretary to the commander he was not in a position to make the statement.
Rear Admiral Fernando who was a commodore at that time was brought to former Fisheries Minister Felix Pereira’s house and introduced to the parents of Rajeev Naganadan, Govinda Samy and Sarojini Naganathan. Rajeev Naganathan was abducted on September 17, 2008, the CID believes by the Navy abduction ring.
Minister Pereira was personally known to the family of Rajeev Naganadan.
Fernando says he exchanged phone numbers with the parents and after making inquiries, had met Naganathan’s parents at Minister Perera’s residence again, and informed them that the information was accurate.
Fernando informed the Naganathans that their boy was being held at the Trincomalee detention cells known as gun site.
The CID has corroborated that Rajeev Naganathan’s father’s phone has recorded 67 instances of contact with Shermal Fernando’s mobile.
On June 17, 2009 Minister Perera wrote to then Navy Commander Karannagoda, saying information had surfaced that the boys were being detained by the Navy and asking the Commander to release the boys.
Rear admiral Fernando also admitted to the CID that he had met Sampath Munasinghe and asked him to release the boys. Fernando says Munasinghe informed him that the boys were in Trincomalee, in the custody of Commander Sumith Ranasinghe. This information was also conveyed in turn to the former Minister and Rajeev’s parents.
Meanwhile, the CID also informed the Fort Magistrate last week that it intends to initiate investigations into several personnel attached to the Department for Registration of Persons for issuing an Identity card with a fake name to assist Prasad Chandana Hettiarachchi alias Navy Sampath, who is currently in remand custody for his alleged involvement with the abduction of 11 youths in 2008.