UNP Parlimentarian Maheswaren’s killer sentenced to death

 By T.Farook Thajudeen

 The assassin of former UNP Parliamentarian T. Maheswaran was sentenced to death yesterday by the Colombo High Court.

Colombo High Court Judge Sunil Rajapaksa delivering his judgment after the trial sentenced to death the accused Johnson Collin Valentine alias Vasanthan to death for killing Parliamentarian T. Maheswaran on 1 January, 2008 at a Hindu Kovil in the Kotahena Police Area.

Court Mudiliar S.A.M. Nafli of Colombo High Court interpreting the Sinhala order into Tamil said that the court had come to the decision after carefully studying the proceedings and the evidence led before court by the prosecution.

According to the judge’s observations, the blood stain found in the gun that was alleged have been used to shoot Maheswaran tallied with the blood specimen of the suspect, in the DNA test conducted.

He also said that the evidence of the eye witnesses had proved the prosecutions position without doubt. It was said that productions of the case had proved that the accused had committed the murder. Especially the blood stains that were found in the pink colour shirt that was worn by the accused had proved beyond doubt that the accused had shot Maheswaran.

The secondary evidences of the case too had been proved beyond doubt by the prosecution, thus High Court Judge Sunil Rajapaksa sentenced the accused to death.

The accused was indicted by the Attorney General for the killing of UNP Parliamentarian T. Maheswan on 1 January, 2008 at a Hindu Kovil in Kotahena area when the Parliamentarian was attendind Hindu religious ritual at the Kovil.

After shooting Maheswaran, the accused attempted to get away from the scene when the MSD Officer who was the assigned the body guard on duty of the Parliamentarian ran after the accused and shot him at the Kovil.

In the shootout that took place between the MSD officer and the accused, both of them sustained injuries.

Later at the Accident Service of Colombo National Hospital the MSD Officer seeing the accused who was also brought to the hospital for treatment had raised cries saying “Mahatayata Vedi tibba miniha mehe inne” (The man who shot is here) and the accused was arrested by the police at the hospital. State Counsel Thusitha Kumara prosecuted.