By: Isuru Parakrama
November 04, Colombo (LNW): Shashi Prabha Ratwatte, wife of former State Minister Lohan Ratwatte, was taken into custody following a court appearance at Nugegoda Magistrate’s Court in connection with the discovery of an unregistered luxury vehicle at her residence in Mirihana, Nugegoda.
The Nugegoda Magistrate subsequently ordered her remand until November 07.
The incident originated on October 26, when police located a high-end vehicle lacking registration plates at a three-storey residence owned by Mrs. Ratwatte.
This search, conducted following a tip-off received at police headquarters, uncovered the vehicle in the Embuldeniya neighbourhood.
Lohan Ratwatte, who was also arrested in Katugastota, Kandy, on October 31, reportedly informed police that the unregistered vehicle had been brought to the Mirihana house by his private secretary about three weeks prior to the search.
According to Ratwatte and his wife, his mother-in-law was residing at the property.
In a tragic turn, the private secretary in question was recently found dead from gunshot wounds in Kandy’s Katugastota area, casting further complexity on the case.
Since his arrest, Ratwatte was initially admitted to the Prison Hospital on November 02 due to what prison authorities described as “sudden illness” and was later transferred to Colombo General Hospital for further treatment.