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Dambulla land: I made complaint myself: Sanga 

08 Mar 2021

Former cricketer Kumar Sangakkara told The Morning yesterday (7) that he himself had made the complaint regarding a 2-acre plot of land in Dambulla which is currently the subject of a massive controversy.  “My wife (Yehali Sangakkara) and I were the ones who wrote a letter to the Commissioner General of Lands G.D. Keerthi Gamage, urging him to conduct an investigation about the land deed we obtained, as we received information that that land was transferred to us in a fraudulent manner,” Sangakkara said, speaking exclusively to The Morning last evening.  According to Sangakkara, they sought to purchase the land in Dambulla without knowledge of any fraudulence.  “After the deal, we received our transfer deed and then only did we get to know that it was transferred in a fraudulent manner,” said Sangakkara.  He further said that they sent a letter regarding this on 5 January to Gamage asking for an investigation to be conducted.  “We requested to cancel our deeds as well in this letter.”  Meanwhile, Secretary to the Ministry of Lands R. A. A. K. Ranawaka told us that this land was transferred to Sangakkara’s wife Yehali Sangakkara in a fraudulent manner.  “Transfer deeds were handed back to the Divisional Secretariat by Sangakkara. The Grama Niladhari (village officer) involved in this fraudulent transaction has been interdicted,” said Ranawaka.  According to Ranawaka, the said land was held under the Land Development Ordinance, where it can only be transferred to an agrarian class person with a low income.  “This Grama Niladhari has forged documents to transfer the deed to Yehali Sangakkara,” said Ranawaka.  He added that further investigations regarding the matter are ongoing.  Earlier, media reports alleged that Kumar Sangakkara and his wife Yehali Sangakkara had fraudulently obtained state-owned land through the Dambulla Divisional Secretariat.  Land Commissioner General G.D. Keerthi Gamage, in a letter, said that the news is factually incorrect. According to the letter, the timely gesture of the couple was instrumental in uncovering the apparent fraud, and was much appreciated by Gamage and the land commission.


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