SRI LANKA's top immigration official was arrested Wednesday (25) for failing to heed a court order to reverse a contract that outsourced visa processing to an India-based consortium.
Harsha Ilukpitiya was ordered to be remanded until the Supreme Court completed its hearing into the allegations of corruption in awarding the contract in April.
That month the Sri Lankan government gave the multimillion-dollar contract to India's GBS Technology Services and IVS Global FZCO, along with VFS Global as a technology partner, to process the visa applications of foreigners.
Under the outsourcing agreement, any foreigner entering Sri Lanka was required to pay $25 (£19.3) to have their application processed -- even citizens of countries that had visa-free travel arrangements with Sri Lanka.
Opposition parties and then-tourism minister Harin Fernando had opposed privatising the process, arguing it would discourage tourists.
In August the Supreme Court issued an injunction that suspended the agreement and ordered the temporary reinstatement of the local telecom provider who had previously handled visa processing.
The petitioners alleged that the contract was not awarded transparently and told the court that the foreign consortium would earn up to $2.75 billion (£2bn) over a 16-year period.
Some 1.19 million tourists came to the island in the first seven months of this year, up 56 percent from the corresponding period in 2023, according to Central Bank of Sri Lanka data.
(AFP)
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)