Committee appointed :

Pettah stalls under probe

Sandasen Marasinghe

The Police initiated an investigation yesterday into people who received stalls at the Pavement Shopping Complex at Bodhirajah Mawatha, Pettah in Colombo.

The investigation was commenced based on a complaint made alleging that those stalls have been given to outsiders who did not engage in businesses in the streets.

Inspector General of Police Mahinda Balasuriya directed DIG Anura Senanayake to conduct the investigation, on the instructions of Defence Secretary Gothabhaya Rajapaksa. A Committee has also been appointed comprising another DIG and several other officers to assist in the investigation.

The Government had instructed the Colombo Municipal Council not to give the stalls at the Pavement Shopping Complex to any outsider as it was constructed for vendors who engage in businesses in the streets for a long of time. If there were any stall handed over to outsiders, it would be taken back from them and legal actions will be taken against the officers who gave those stalls to the outsiders.