The Colombo Magistrate’s Court today ordered the release on bail of Commissioner General of Prisons Thushara Upuldeniya, who was arrested and remanded in custody in connection with the illegal release of a prisoner under a presidential pardon.
He was accused of illegally releasing a person who was imprisoned for financial fraud under a presidential pardon on Vesak Poya this year. Accordingly, Upuldeniya was suspended from duty pursuant to a cabinet decision pending an investigation into the allegations.
During the previous proceedings, the Attorney General’s Department informed the court that Upuldeniya had illegally released Athula Thilakaratne under a presidential pardon, although he was not on the official Vesak pardon list.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that more than 60 prisoners have been illegally released using the presidential pardon.