The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has not made any statement to establish or corroborate the allegations of a plot to assassinate President Maithripala Sirisena, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera said. The minister made this observation in a statement yesterday on the misreporting of the CID Investigation regarding the complaint by A.M.Namal Kumara.
The minister requested the media to exercise caution when reporting on criminal investigations with serious implications to the security of the state.“Several media outlets have given wide publicity to false, unattributed claims that the CID had alleged in court that an Indian national had confirmed the existence of a plot to assassinate President Sirisena, Rajapaksa and others. These news reports are false, baseless and inflammatory. The CID has not, at any time, in either written or verbal submissions to the Magistrates Court, made any statement that could lead to the conclusion or inference that an assassination plot has been established or corroborated, whether through “Marceli Thomas” or by any other means,” the minister stressed in his statement.
