Colombo: Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa's elder son has been indicted in the High Court here for alleged misappropriation from an Indian investment prior to 2015. Namal Rajapaksa, 38, was arrested in June 2016 for the alleged misuse of 70 million Sri Lankan rupees from the Krish Hotel Project money to develop the game of rugby, for which he had been a Sri Lanka international player.
The Krish Hotel Project, located in the heart of the Colombo commercial district, was aborted and the unfinished construction remains. Namal, who is out on bail right now, was quizzed recently by the police after the Anura Kumara Dissanayake-led National People's Power (NPP) government revived the Krish case, which had stalled since 2016.
A week later, his younger brother Yoshitha was arrested in the revival of a similar questionable property case. He was released on bail this week. Leader of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Namal is the only member of the Rajapaksa family now a serving member of parliament. The Rajapaksas say they are being targeted on a political witch hunt. The case is to be next heard on March 27, PTI news agency reported.
