Samurdhi officers say Rs.1.46bn rupees removed from Divi Neguma A/C    

15.Jan.2014

 

The Samurdhi Development Officers’ Union claims that a sum of Rs.1.46 billion was removed from the account of the Divi Neguma Development Department, two days before the concluded presidential election.

President of Samurdhi Development Officers’ Union, Anura Bandara Ariyaratne stated that two billion rupees from the Samurdhi bank was distributed as relief at Rs.2500 per beneficiary. We were able to stop it before the sum increased to 10 billion rupees, he said.

He went on to note that the Divi Neguma rulers who did not give a toss about this – the former minister – has now left the island. It was not a small amount of money that they destroyed through this programme. The trade unions loyal to them, got together and took over Rs.1.46 billion from the Divi Neguma Development Department account, on January 6, two days before the election. The Divi Neguma Development Department printed five million bank chits. This is how they destroyed the funds.

Meanwhile, a stock of holy robes was discovered at a house in Polonnaruwa on Wednesday and was seized by the police. The police acting on a tip-off had seized the stock of holy robes from a house in Isipathana Place in Polonnaruwa.

Police say that 1700 holy robes were discovered at the house.

The residents of the house claim that a secretary of a local politician had rented the house from them, four months ago.

Meanwhile, the police conducted an inspection at the office of the State Trading Corporation in Matara. The police had discovered a stock of plastic chairs that had been stored at the office.

The manager at the office had stated that the chairs had been purchased using the decentralised funds of public representatives in the area and were to be distributed among the people.