On the evening of January 24, 2010, journalist and cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda left his home to meet a friend but never returned. Just two days before a crucial presidential election, the 50-year-old writer, known for his sharp political satire and outspoken criticism of the Rajapaksa regime, was abducted. Fifteen years later, his whereabouts remain unknown, making his disappearance one of Sri Lanka’s most haunting symbols of state impunity.

Just months earlier, in August 2009, he had been abducted and released the following day. While his wife, Sandya, went to the Homagama Police to file a complaint after he did not return home on January 24th, they refused to file a report. The police only began investigating two weeks later, after public attention began to grow.

What does the evidence show?

According to a CID investigation, the operation that led to his abduction began years earlier. Evidence presented in court revealed that Ekneligoda had been in contact with a former LTTE member turned army intelligence informant, Sumathipala Sureshkumar. On the night of his disappearance, Sureshkumar lured him into a meeting under the instruction of senior officers from the Giritale Army Camp. Investigators revealed that the operation was ordered by senior officials, allegedly with the knowledge of then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. 

Phone records, travel logs, and sworn testimonies traced a clear sequence of events: After Ekneligoda was detained at Giritale, he was interrogated about his satirical cartoons of the Rajapaksa family and then transported to Akkaraipattu, where investigators now believe he was murdered and his body disposed of.

Significant dates from the case 

For years, officials dismissed any claims of state involvement in the disappearance of Prageeth Ekneligoda. It wasn’t until 2015 that the Criminal Investigation Department reopened the case, leading to the arrest of eleven military intelligence officers, including Colonel Shammi Kumararatne, the commanding officer of the Giritale camp. By 2019, nine of these officers were indicted on charges of kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder. In 2022, those same officers were once again remanded for interfering with witnesses, following a series of delays, missing files, and political interference that stalled he progress of the trial. 

(Illustrated graphic here using the copy below) 

August 2009 – Prageeth is abducted by men in a white van and released the next day. 

24th January 2010 – Disappearance: Prageeth Ekneligoda is abducted again, two days before the presidential election.

19th February 2010 – Sandya Ekneligoda files a habeas corpus petition demanding that the state produce her husband.

November 2011 – Then Attorney General Mohan Peiris tells the UN that Prageeth is “alive and living abroad.”

August 2015 – CID arrests 11 members of military intelligence linked to the Giritale Army Camp, following new evidence.

October 2015 – CID granted permission to search the Giritale camp after years of obstruction. Evidence of interrogation and detention was discovered.

January 2016 – Sandya was threatened in court by Bodu Bala Sena monk Gnanasara Thero, later convicted for intimidation.

November 2019 – Indictments Filed: Attorney General indicts nine army officers on charges of abduction and conspiracy to murder.

June 2022 – The same nine officers are remanded again for interfering with witnesses during the ongoing trial.

13th June 2025 – Retired Brigadier Shammi Kumararatne, the main suspect, is remanded over allegations of threatening witnesses on 19 separate occasions. The court hears testimony from a former LTTE intelligence member detained at Giritale Army Camp. 

16th July 2025 – CID Director Shani Abeysekara, who served as lead investigator since 2015, is named as the 109th witness in the case. The court also hears concerns about false testimony from a witness who filed a complaint claiming he was being threatened.

31st October 2025 – The case is adjourned until 5th December as the court awaits the appointment of two additional judges to fill vacancies on the bench.

Throughout this tumultuous journey, Sandya Ekneligoda remained resolute, attending every hearing. Fifteen years after her husband’s disappearance, the case remains unresolved. The individuals accused of abducting Ekneligoda are still on trial, and his body has never been recovered.