Bribery case filed against ex-director

Sandasen MARASINGHE

A bribery case has been filed against the former Director, Operations of the Maharagama Peoplised Transport Service for accepting an incentive of Rs. 300,000 from a bus owner to obtain a route permit.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption filed the indictment before the Colombo High Court against M.V. Chandraratne Vitanage of Dambahena Road, Maharagama for demanding and accepting Rs. 300,000 from Welarawe Gedara Wijeratne Banda of Gal Linda, Mailapitiya, Thala Oya. According to the Bribery Commission Vitanage had demanded the incentive from Wijeratne Banda in March 2007 to support him to obtain a Kandy-Colombo route permit.

Wijeratne in his statement to the Bribery Commission stated that he was the conductor in his father’s bus. His father hadn’t a route permit. When they attempted to obtain a route permit from the National Transport Commission, Vitanage expressed support.

He demanded an incentive of Rs. 300,000 and accepted Rs. 200,000 on March 13 and the rest the following day. Vitanage in his statement to the Bribery Commission denied the allegations against him and stated that he contested for Provincial Council in 1993 from the Democratic United National Front but lost.