Australian Police acted ‘unreasonably’ in Danushka’s case – Court

Published

1 year ago

November 24, 2023

editor

Police who prosecuted a Sri Lankan cricket star later cleared of sexually assaulting a woman at her Sydney home acted “unreasonably”, a court has been told.

Danushka Gunathilaka, 32, was finally allowed to leave Australia after about 10 months on bail after he was acquitted following a judge-alone trial in September.

Police had alleged Mr Gunathilaka had removed a condom without consent, also known as “stealthing”, during a sexual encounter with a woman he met on Tinder.

Judge Sarah Huggett, who also presided over the trial, said during a costs hearing on Friday that she had “significant concerns” about the prosecution’s case.

“There were so many inherent issues and difficulties with the prosecution case that should have been obvious to the prosecution at the outset.”

Justice Huggett had ordered that a certificate be issued to Mr Gunathilaka so that he may be awarded costs. It’s understood he has since returned home.

Police had submitted that in deciding to prosecute Mr Gunathilaka they could not have predicted what “factual findings would be made at trial”.

(Agencies)

Batalanda commission report handed over to the AG

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2025

editor

The “Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Establishment and Maintenance of Places of Unlawful Detention and Torture Chambers at the Batalanda Housing Scheme” which was recently tabled in Parliament, has been handed over to the Attorney General by the Presidential Secretariat following a directive from President Anura Kumara Disanayake.

The report, originally compiled over 25 years ago, was tabled in Parliament recently. The Government has taken a decision to take necessary action and as a result, actions have been initiated to hand over the report to the Attorney General’s Department today (29).

(President’s Media Division)

News

Ex-SLTB Vice Chairman granted bail

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2025

editor

The former Vice Chairman of the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), L.A. Wimalaratne, who was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) earlier today (April 29), has been released on bail.

He was arrested in connection with an investigation into a house in Kataragama, allegedly linked to the family of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

News

Franchise agreements of Colombo Strikers & Jaffna Kings terminated

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2025

editor

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in collaboration with the event rights holder of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) – the IPG Group, has officially announced that the franchise partnerships of the ‘Colombo Strikers’ and ‘Jaffna Kings’ have been terminated.

According to a statement issued today (April 28), the terminations were made due to the respective franchises’ failure to fulfill contractual obligations outlined in their agreements with the IPG Group, which were established at the commencement of their participation in the league.

Accordingly, the forthcoming edition of the Lanka Premier League will feature franchises representing Colombo and Jaffna under new ownership, the statement notes.

As the event rights holder, the IPG Group retains the exclusive rights over the LPL franchise teams and, accordingly, is vested with the authority to transfer and/or assign the ownership rights of the said franchises to interested parties.

Sri Lanka Cricket and The IPG Group remain committed to upholding the integrity, standards, and success of the Lanka Premier League and look forward to an exciting upcoming season with renewed participation.