Former State Minister Lohan Ratwatte has passed away. He was reportedly admitted to a private hospital in Colombo and was receiving treatment.
He was 57 years old at the time of his death. He was elected to the Central Provincial Council in 2009 and was elected to Parliament as a Sri Lanka Freedom Party MP in 2010.
In 2012, he was appointed as the Pathadumbara Sri Lanka Freedom Party Organizer and held the position of State Minister of Road Development.
Lohan Ratwatte, who was re-elected to parliament in the 2015 and 2020 parliamentary elections, held the positions of State Minister of Prison Reforms, Prisoner Rehabilitation, Gem and Jewellery Industries during the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration.
On 29 January 2024, he was appointed State Minister of Plantation Industries and Mahaweli Development.
Lohan Ratwatte is the son of former State Minister of Defence Anuruddha Ratwatte.
On 5 December 2001, during the parliamentary elections, 15 suspects including the then Acting Minister of Defence Anuruddha Ratwatte, his son Lohan Ratwatte and Chanuka Ratwatte were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the shooting death of 10 Muslim youths in Udathalawinne, Kandy.
Lohan Ratwatte was once again embroiled in controversy over an incident in which he allegedly arrived at the Anuradhapura Prison on the afternoon of September 12, 2021, Prisoner’s Day, and forced prisoners to kneel at gunpoint.