The Ratnapura High Court has handed down a 5-year prison sentence to Lalith Jayasinghe, the former Senior Deputy Inspector General (SDIG) of the Sabaragamuwa Province.

This sentence stems from a case in which Jayasinghe was charged with exerting influence on the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of Kahawatte Police to refrain from arresting MP Premalal Jayasekera. The MP was implicated in a shooting incident that targeted individuals assembling a platform for a political event in Ratnapura in the run-up to the 2015 Presidential Election.

The incident, which occurred on January 5, 2015, resulted in a warrant for the arrest of MP Jayasekera and several local politicians. They were accused of involvement in the shooting at an election rally venue for former President Maithripala Sirisena, who was the common opposition candidate at that time.

During the shooting, a political supporter involved in decorating the election stage sustained injuries and later succumbed to them on January 8.

In January 2015, former Deputy Minister Premalal Jayasekara, former Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council member Nilantha Jayakody, and former Kahawatta Pradeshiya Sabha chairman Vajira Darshana were arrested in connection with the incident. MP Jayasekara was released on bail in December of that year.

Subsequently, in July 2020, Jayasekara and the other two accused received a death sentence for their roles in the fatal shooting incident. The Ratnapura High Court pronounced this verdict in the case.