The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court today (May 26) ordered the release on bail of former Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who was arrested and remanded in connection with a case filed during the previous administration regarding the import of substandard organic fertilizer from a Chinese company.
Colombo Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali issued the order after considering the facts presented by both parties during the hearing held this morning.
Accordingly, former Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has been granted bail under the condition of a cash payment of Rs. 50,000 and five sureties of Rs. 1 million each. As per the court’s order, two of the sureties must be close relatives of the suspect.
Additionally, a travel ban has been imposed on the former Minister, and his passport has been taken into custody by the court.
The magistrate further ordered Mahindananda Aluthgamage not to influence any witnesses in the case and to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigations.
The former Agriculture Minister, who was remanded in connection with a 2021 case involving the importation of a substandard stock of organic fertilizer, was produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court this morning by prison officers.
On May 19, the court had ordered that he be remanded until May 26. He surrendered before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court on May 19, following the issuance of an arrest warrant against him on May 16.
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