Medical panel appointed to probe suspicious death of suspended Finance Ministry official

Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Palitha Mahipala, stated that a panel of four specialist judicial medical officers was appointed to conduct the post-mortem examination of the Assistant Director of the Department of External Resources, who was under suspension over a $2.5 million incident at the General Treasury.

The body of one of the four Finance Ministry officials suspended in connection with the transfer of $2.5 million to a third party was discovered in his garden yesterday (30).

Police stated that it appears to be a suicide, and Police Media Spokesman Superintendent of Police Minura Senarath notes the post-mortem examination scheduled for today will confirm the cause of death.

Ranga Nishantha, an Assistant Director who served at the Department of External Resources, was identified as the deceased.

The body of the 50-year-old was found yesterday afternoon with cut wounds at his residence in the Pahala Weerambuwa area of Kuliyapitiya.

While initial reports suggested the official failed to appear after being summoned by the Criminal Investigation Department for two days to provide a statement, the Acting Police Media Spokesman later confirmed the official attended investigations and surrendered data devices, including laptops, to the investigating authorities.