Thajudeen murder: Ex Senior DIG Anura Senanayake arrested

• Ex-top cop arrested; remanded until Thursday
• CID makes arrest after 3 day interrogation
• Interrogations of two other police officials lead to Senanayake’s arrest

Four years after his murder, police made the most high profile arrest yet in the Wasim Thajudeen case yesterday, when former Senior DIG Anura Senanayake was taken into custody in connection with the killing.

Senanayake, whose connections to former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa are renowned, was arrested by the CID after being questioned on the Fourth Floor over three days. Senanayake was arrested in connection with conspiring to conceal the murder of the famous sportsman.

He was produced before Colombo Additional Magistrate Nishantha Peiris who remanded the former top cop until Thursday (26).

Handcuffed and waving away reporters, Senanayake was escorted to a prison bus to be taken to remand custody. 

Thajudeen’s death was ruled a murder by the Colombo Additional Magistrate in February this year, following a damning report by the Judicial Medical Officer which said the rugby player had suffered assaults on his limbs and his pelvic bone had been broken prior to his death.

Initially, the death of Wasim Thajudeen, whose body was found at Park Road Colombo 05 in 2012, was declared an automobile accident by the Police. The OIC of the Narahenpita Police has been remanded in connection with attempting to conceal the murder and the DIG of Traffic was grilled by the CID earlier this month.  Senanayake was questioned for several hours for two days last week and is believed to have been arrested based on information revealed during the interrogation of those two police officers.

Senanayake was Sri Lanka’s most powerful police official during the latter years of the Rajapaksa administration, since he exercised his powers with the additional force of the Defence establishment. (DB)