Divisional Secretary for Trincomalee – Sashi Devi Jaladeepan
During the war Sashi Devi Jaladeepan in her capacity as the Trincomalee Division Secretary was responsible for amongst other things the issuing of ferry tickets and clearances for those travelling from Trincomalee to Jaffna. After the end of the war she still held that responsibility. Then on 18 June 2009, a well respected Tamil gentleman who was a resident of Jaffna applied for tickets for the ferry crossing from Trincomalee in order to return to his hometown of Jaffna.
Accompanied by his family, consisting of his wife and two children, Mr.Nagaratnam Lingam Prabhakaran was astounded when his wife was refused a place on the ferry by the authorities at the Trincomalee Divisional Secretariat. The reason being cited for the refusal was that Mr.Nagaratnam’s wife’s paperwork was not in order, which in reality was not the case (the DS staff had failed to properly peruse the paperwork submitted)as Mr.Nagaratnam had many times before travelled the same trip with his family. Frustrated, helpless and with his wife unable to travel, Mr.Nagaratnam and his family stayed back in Trincomalee that day. As if that weren’t enough he had no way of getting a refund for the four ferry tickets he had already bought. The very next morning Mr.Nagaratnam went to the Divisional Secretariat and sought a meeting with Mrs.Jaladeepan, the Divisional Secretary. He pointed out to Mrs.Jaladeepan that the true facts behind his wife being refused a place on the ferry crossing was no fault of hers (Mrs.Nagaratnam) but solely due to the inability of the staff at the Divisional Secretariat to thoroughly check the paperwork that had been submitted by the Nagaratnams.
At this point the Divisional Secretary Mrs.Jaladeepan who could have been accommodating and have easily assisted this gentleman with what was a most reasonable and politely put forth request decided instead to not entertain the man or his pleas at all. She went on to ask him ‘not to ‘waste’ her time’. Mrs. Jaladeepan then had told Mr.Nagaratnam that she had ‘no time for his problems’. This coming from the senior most civil servant appointed by the government for the area and in whom the power is vested to do all she can to assist the public who are after all the very people who she is oath bound to serve to the best of her ability. However in Trincomalee the Divisional Secretary has such illusions of grandeur that she forgets she is a mere mortal.
Fortunately Mr.Nagaratnam was not disheartened after the cold reception he had received from the Divisional Secretary herself. He went on to plead to the common sense of her subordinates who once told of the mistake they made were honorable enough to acknowledge the fact they had made had indeed contributed to preventing the entire Nagaratnam family from leaving for Jaffna the previous day. Mr.Nagaratnam’s family was finally able to proceed on the ferry crossing unhindered. However, he left with a bitter taste of the treatment he had received from no one less than the Trincomalee Divisional Secretary. Thereafter Mr.Nagaratnam Lingam Prabhakaran made an official complaint with the Ministry of Public Administration. The Ministry held a speedy inquiry and the result of that inquiry was Mrs.Jaladeepan being ordered to pay Mr.Nagaratnam a sum of Rs.49,000/- (which was in lieu of the funds he had had to spend due to the delay in his family’s departure as a direct result of cavalier and dismissive stance taken by the Trincomalee Divisional Secretary.
Sashi Devi Jaladeepan assumed duties as the Trincomalee Divisional Secretary under very trying circumstances at the height of the war with the LTTE. When it was the norm to have a Grade I Sri Lanka Administrative Services officer appointed as a Divisional Secretary, Mrs.Jaladeepan a Grade III officer was appointed the DS as every other qualified candidate was reluctant to take up the position citing the dangers associated with working in Trincomalee town in those dangerous days. After assuming her duties as Divisional Secretary, Mrs.Jaladeepan ‘s eccentricities and her shortcomings became evident, not only to her subordinates at the Divisional Secretariat but to the members of all communities in the Trincomalee Divisional Secretariat area who had to deal with her. Not only was she inaccessible to ordinary members of the public, but she was overtly discouraging of anyone who wished to meet her. Anyone that she thought unable to propagate her career or her circumstances was seen as a waste of time. A very secretive and eccentric person known to lock herself up in her personal office for long hours and having an obsessive fascination for the color yellow, she would demand that anyone entering her office remove their footwear before entering. Her ways have become the brunt of jokes in Trincomalee amongst those who know, albeit discreetly as they are in fear of antagonizing her.
Mrs.Jaladeepan’s corrupt ways can be recorded as far back as December 2004. On 2004-12-26 when the tsunami struck and in its aftermath NGOs, INGOs and the government channeled funds to build new housing for those displaced. Jaladeepan was given the responsibility of evaluating and finally giving the newly constructed homes to those she deemed qualified. What followed in the months after the tsunami was a blatant case of favoritism where only Jaladeepan’s loyalists were given preference (in some instances up to 2 houses). Whereas those not known to her and those not in her favor were then denied housing and to this day remain homeless.
Furthermore, allegations are being leveled against her husband too. Jaladeepan’s husband who works as the Superintendent of posts at the Trincomalee General post office is alleged to be abusing his position by tampering with mail belonging to his wife’s opponents and those critical of her. He is also accused of preventing their correspondence which is critical of her being sent to the authorities in Colombo. Despite numerous petitions by the public to the Department of Posts, to date no inquiry to verify these allegations has been initiated though it’s a known fact in Trincomalee.
The clout that Jaladeepan holds in Trincomalee is also fely by development agencies from overseas. NGOs and INGOs have in the years preceding her being appointed Divisional Secretary, pumped in millions of dollars into the Trincomalee DS division. Allegations against Jaladeepan tell a tale of how she made it certain that only those NGOs and INGOs who were agreeable to her and met her criteria would be given the opportunity to participate in her division’s development. As long as they complied and she received her cut.
Jaladeepan is rumored to have amassed millions of rupees through her powerful position and the control it wields in particular over domestic shipping and development work. This guarantees that she continues to make money by completely ignoring and circumventing the Divisional Secretariat’s internal committee system and by making sure those she has to deal with are only those loyal to her. These loyalists are those whose favor she has cultivated over the years and they have time and time again supported her in order to reach her objectives.
As a government servant Jaladeepan is expected to follow the rules and thus cannot purchase property personally without first disclosing her personal assets. Working her way around this thorny issue she has nominated her younger sister (who resides overseas) to conduct all her property purchases. This secret project of Jaladeepan’s like all the others is out in the open in Trincomalee town, where people say that she has her sister supervising the construction of a luxury home in Dehiwala. Mrs.Jaladeepan achieves all this with NGO, INGO and also through government funds given to the Trincomalee DS by the Ministry of Public Administration.
The Trincomalee Divisional Secretary conducts her illegal activities with a variety of people from diverse backgrounds. For her one’s race and political loyalties are irrelevant as long as they can help her in reaching her end game. The Trincomalee Government Agent Major General Ranjith de Silva and a man named Jerome who is a key decision make of an INGO are two of her biggest allies in her web of corruption. By befriending the GA she has ensured her place in the decision making process of Trincomalee will not be compromised or usurped. Whenever allegations of bribery are leveled against Jaldeepan, the Government Agent immediately sets about safeguarding her as they have mutual interests in one another’s well being. Jaladeepan and Major General de Silva work in cohesion and safeguard each other whenever there is trouble brewing politically.
Jaladeepan though being a petite woman uses her resources to intimidate and threaten those preventing either her or her loyalists from going about their work. She resorts to thuggery and intimidation by deploys her security detail which consists of hand picked, corrupt police officers. These policemen do her bidding and had recently accompanied her to the Illupukulam police post in the Uppuvelli police area where Jaladeepan had severely berated and openly threatened the police officers there. Thereafter the police department subsequently filed a case against Jaladeepan. That case (B/5014/09) is pending in the Trincomalee Magistrates Court. To try save herself from any adverse out comes from that case she has begun a close association with senior DIG Shanker. Attesting to another fact that Mrs.Jaladeepan is willing to do whatever it takes to make money or save her own skin. Even to the point of having sex with officials or business people.
Yet another group which the Trincomalee Divisional Secretary fears and has animosity toward are the war veterans. However she is helpless as they set a united front and are willing to question her motives and actions on every official act she takes. One such war veteran group known as the Kotasha Ranaviru Sausadaya, administered by the Ranaviru Seva Authority is well represented in the Trincomalee provincial council. Belonging to this organization is a Ranaviru representative who is on a number of committees and well regarded named Chandrakanthi. A war widow well regarded by everyone from the people who she represents to her peers, she regularly goes head to head with Jaladeepan. At the first meeting of the Kotasha Ranaviru Sausadaya, Chandrakanthi and Jaladeepan had both been in attendance. When Chandrakanthi was unanimously elected chairperson, Jaladeepan vehemently opposed it saying that voting Chandrakanthi as chairperson would hinder any cooperation from the the Divisional Secretariat under Jaladeepan as Chandrakanthi had made many accusations and insinuations about Jaladeepan and her alleged corrupt practices.
Jaladeepan is paranoid and sees enemies of the political kind everywhere. Her policy is to eradicate a threat whether it’s real or not, and do it immediately. With this in mind in 2008, Jaladeepan in a move to consolidate her position concocted charges and had transferred out five Trincomalee Divisional Secretariat employees. The five officials were the Administration officer, Samurdhi officer, the Chief clerk, a driver and a peon. The true reason for their being sent out of Trincomalee was their lack of aiding and abetting the DS in her underhanded ways. Today those same employees are happy with the out come of their transfer as they no longer have to deal with Jaladeepan.
In government circles and on the street in Trincomalee it is a known fact that Mrs.Jaladeepan paid the LTTE extortion money when terrorism was at its peak. She and some other senior SLAS officials in Trincomalee have over the past few years become multi millionaires thanks to this. The absence of war, though welcomed by many, has not been received so well by these corrupt officials for whom the LTTE provided an amazing opportunity to prosper.
The most rotten apple of them all - Government Agent Trincomalee – Major General T T Ranjith Silva
They say that the intent of a military academy is to produce ‘an officer and a gentleman’. One who can lead by example and one who can make sacrifices for the greater good. However cherished these ideals and no matter how many times it was drummed into him at the military academy, there is one such retired military officer who falls desperately short of being a gentleman and the concept of sacrifices is alien to him. As for the greater good? The only greater good Major General (retired0 Ranjith de Silva knows is for his voracious sexual appetite and for his bank balance.
Major General T T Ranjith de Silva prior to his appointment as Government Agent responsible for Trincomalee, served as Security Forces commander (East). Upon his retirement he was appointed by His Excellency the President to the post he holds to this date.
Birds of a feather they say flock together and it was only natural that upon his appointment he would become intimate with the ways of Mrs.jaladeepan. No doubt her influence has been profound on the former General as in his position as the Trincomalee GA, Ranjit de Silva provides Jaladeepan with a security blanket from her political enemies which gives her the freedom to do whatever she wants and be assured that she will be safe. Undoubtedly the General like the conquerors of ancient times gets his fair share of the spoils.
Behind a veneer of armed forces discipline and being a devoted Bhuddist, Ranjit de Silva is a morally bankrupt individual. Using his powerful position to awe and intimidate everyone from the women who have sex with him to his henchmen who make certain that his coffers are kept brimming to the rim. His prejudices run deep and though he tries his best to hide them he cannot. His hatred for Tamils is only superseded by his greed and lust. It is that greed and lust that enables him to not only work with the likes of Jaladeepan but also to seduce young Tamil women to come into his bed.
His planning skills and political intuition are first class and enable him to run his official and unofficial duties like a well oiled machine. Whenever contracts come up, Ranjith de Silva shrewdly delegates all responsibility to the Divisional Secretaries whom he knows will do as he tells them. Thus ensuring that in the event any malpractice is reported, it would be him who would be appointed to head the inquiry.
Renowned for his philandering, there is no depth so low he would stoop to in order to taste the forbidden fruit. From school girls, to subordinates to married women and other officers wives, whatever woman the former general fancies he tries desperately to have. When he doesn’t get what he wants he behaves like a bully or a spoilt child.
A case in point being one that involves the wife of the present DS in charge of Seruwila. Seruwila also happens to be one of the least corrupt DS divisions in the Trincomalee area which comes under GA Ranjith de Silva. However Major General de Silva holds a personal vendetta against the Seruwila Divisional Secretary Mr.Herath. It stems from the time when Mr.Herath’s wife, herself an attractive lady was employed at the GA’s office. When working there the GA had made advances on her and she had ignored them. Shunned by Mrs.Herath, Genral de Silva is now exacting his revenge on her husband who for his misfortune comes under de Silva’s purview.
The situation became so difficult and tumultuous for Mr.Herath, that he requested for a transfer. However, as he needs the GA’s approval to do that, approval was denied as the General Ranjith de Silva, being the officer and gentleman he is, wants to do his best to make the DS seruwila suffer, for no fault of his own.
General de Silva’s history of philandering and his exploits in the bed are too wide and varied to list since his taking up the post of Trincomalee GA. However some of his exploits demand mention as they are a shining example of how corruption and his lust for women intertwine. General de Silva once had a management assistant in his staff named Kanthi Kulasuriya. He eventually had an affair with her and finally the GA helped her to get promoted. Soon after which he approved her transfer to a different area. Now, in a new relationship with yet another female staffer named Dilrukshi, general de Silva is busy dispensing official and unofficial favors on her till a new flavour takes his fancy. As for General de Silva’s poor lonely wife who resides in Rajagiriya…either she is unaware of what her husband is up to or she herself must be finding entertainment of the adult kind someplace else..
Another incident connected to Genral de Silva’s philandering caused him much embarrassment very recently but was soon hushed up. This time it concerned a Tamil lady named Lakshmi who worked as a clerk at the GA’s office in Trincomalee. One day in the course of her duties, she had brought over a file to the GA. Whilst in General de Silva’s office he had summoned her to come closer towards his desk where he was seated. The pretext he gave was that he wanted to see her palm so that he could predict her future. Upon learning the General’s true intentions, Lakshmi had bolted out of the GA’s room and subsequently told the entire office about the incident. In normal circumstances a person holding de Silva’s position would have been embarrassed and a right minded man would have curtailed his indiscretions. Not so with Ranjith de Silva as he tends to think with another part of his anatomy rather than the brain when it comes to women.
If leading by example was the policy of the day in the Trincomalee GA’s office then it’s a very sad state of affairs there. The GA’s leading henchman is the Kachcheri’s Motor Traffic Officer, a man named Niranjan. Niranjan is alleged to be General de Silva’s ‘Man-Friday’ and is privy to all the GA’s deals. Especially those concerning vehicles mentioned in the GA’s office inventory. One such glaring example was when a double cab attached to the Kachcheri had toppled over at around 10pm some time in the period of January 2009. Those who are familiar with Niranjan’s practices know that in such cases his usual method of operation would be to divide the job into four bids and ask registered garages to supply quotations. This provides any audit with the façade and semblance of the GA office having had followed proper procedures to ensure that the bid process was fair and honest. Niranjan however sets it up in such a manner that would virtually guarantee the job of repairing the damaged vehicle would only be carried out by two of the garages that pay him a commission for the work brought to them. These two garages are the Baby Tyre House and Sudarshan Motors. With the job being split into four, Niranjan not only ensures himself of a substantial cut but one more sizable for his boss, General de Silva.
Another instance of the GA’s and Niranjan’s malpractices and corruption when dealing with the state vehicles belonging to the GA office was evident when the Hino lorry which was in need of repairreceived approval from the GA for an overhaul. Niranjan engineered the whole process in his usual manner which would not cause any suspicion. He went on to make claims for 2 more vehicles in the year 2009.
Major General de Silva integrity as an honorable officer is in question if one were to take a close look at his assets before and after his assuming duties as the Trincomalee Government Agent. Amongst these is a sprawling coconut estate in Kudugoda, Embilipitiya. Referred by the locals to as ‘the General’s estate’, the vast land was purchased after General de Silva became GA.
All the building materials used to construct the house on this estate was sourced in Trincomalee and sent by Army transport to Embilipitiya and 41 sri 9189 is the registration number of the lorry belonging to the GA’s office used to transport General de Silva’s construction items discreetly when Army vehicles are not available. This is a blatant violation of many laws, chiefly the inappropriate use of state vehicles.
As if that weren’t enough, the allegations against this official keep on piling. General de Silva just compounds his problems by abusing the facilities given him when for example his security detail provided by the Army is used for all his personal work and everything but securing him.After all when he wastes his time and energy womanizing anyone in their right mind knows he has no threat against him.
In his duties as MTO, Niranjan conducts training programs for youth from the area. There are allegations being leveled against the GA’s PA Niranjan that he had asked two girls attending his training programs to remain for a further duration of time. He was able to do this with the aid and knowledge of the GA.
The GA is also alleged to have had another affair with the wife of a naval officer.
In the instances where General Silva is asked to nominate a subordinate to travel overseas for training, he does not select the best suited candidate impartially. Instead he is biased and only selects those loyal to him and those people are more than likely not qualified to receive such training.
When visiting VIPs arrive in Trincomalee from Colombo and the onus is on the GA to entertain them, he chooses the Sri Lanka army’s officers mess as opposed to a private civilian area. He does this in cohesion with the financial officer from the Kachcheri.Curtaining material used by the Divisional Secretariats are usually sent down to the Pradeshiya sabhas. However General Silva takes the material and gifts it to his mistresses.
General Silva’s fuel allowances are so exorbitant that for a month they exceed rs.182,000/-. No suspicions are raised and audits are unable to locate any irregularities as the GA has very cleverly made his financial and administrative personnel complicit in his plans. Thus the incentive for them to cover his high expenses with the creative cooking of books is to be expected.
The GA has his own loyal contractor who he utilizes for those projects coming directly under his purview. The name of the contractor is Chandrika construction located in kantale. The proprietor of this company openly states that he can get the GA to do anything for him.He has gone so far as to stake bets on it.
Under normal circumstances the GA of an area would hand in a confidential report once a month to the presidential secretariat. However General Silva does not follow this practice. Instead he relies on his loyal DS division heads to doctor their monthly reports and submit those to him.
Mr. K A D Somadasa Gunawardena (Eastern Provincial Council member PA) The Homosexual gangster of the East
Somadasa Gunawardena is an anomaly in the east. He’s a homosexual thug. His penchant for boys is known far and wide in the east. This former parliamentarian now turned Pradeshiya Sabha member juggles a complex system of illegal activities, homosexual sojourns and a family in Gampaha. Having homes in both Gampaha and Trincomalee, Gunawardena is one of the most openly corrupt officials in the East..
With the help of his cronies he made his wealth during the long war with the LTTE. His two most trusted aides are two constables named Dhanapala who are brothers from the same family working for him on his security detail. This security was provided Pradeshiya Sabha member Gunawardena during the war but since the end of hostilities it still remains. No doubt it would be unthinkable for him to lose his left ball and right ball as they are known to the community in Kantale which is the area that Gunawardena represents and has been doing so through intimidation and fear tactics.
Gunawardena gets these two trusted constables to conduct all his illegal activities such as a) Treasure hunting and desecrating scared and historical sites b) killing wild animals for game meat c) cutting forest reserve trees for timber to be sold or used in housing construction. d) illegal gem mining e) transporting illegal contraband in state vehicles.etc.
It would most certainly be interesting to see how Gunawardena will be able to keep his two constables on an official basis once word gets to the ears of the newly appointed Inspector General of Police Mr.Mhainda Balasuriya. Never in his wildest imagination would Gunawardena have thought the man he so strongly condemned as a UNP stooge would have ascended to the position of IG. What interesting things the IGP can find if he were to send someone to see what his most ardent critic of the past is up to in the small but bustling town of Kantale. First he would no doubt find that Gunawardena had tried his utmost to evacuate the chief prelate of the Seruvila temple at the height of the war. Not out of any concern for the monks safety but so that he would have the privacy in which to dig up treasure hidden in the vast property.
Then he would pleasantly discover that dear PS member Gunawardena has with the aid of the Kantale police, taken for his own use a police owned Toyota Lancruiser. That this vehicle, which is blue in color and bears the registration 65-6396 is officially posted for duty at the Parakramapura police post in the Kantale police area and that this very same vehicle met with an accident in October 2009 when being driven by a civilian in Anuradhapura. The civilian was a young man alleged to be PS member Gunawardena’s lover. This police jeep is presently undergoing repairs at Nipun motors in Kantale. Before meeting with this accident this vehicle has been used by Gunawardena to commit various illegal activities.
The father of the two constables on Gunawardena’s security detail was awarded a contract to construct a 5km road to Therawamadu. People of the rea have petitioned the authorities to no avail citing mass corruption in the awarding of this construction job as well as the method of construction itself.It is alleged that 10 million rupees had been allocated for this road building project but only 1 million had been used to construct a very shoddy road.
If the government truly wants to be in sync with the people of Trincomalee they must first set affairs correct at the Divisional Secretariat and then from there proceed upwards and down wards in the administration chain rooting out other Jaladeepans. Ranjit Silvas and Gunawardenas. If theses blatantly corrupt officials are allowed to remain, then the victory achieved by Sri Lanka’s heroic armed forces and honest politicians would be in vain. As the government would then have only achieved the replacing of one form of terror with yet another. Because corruption when left unchecked is a blight on the soul of our nation.
