Sri Lanka, Oct. 3 -- A dispute over ownership of items in former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's official residence on Wijerama Mawatha has delayed the handover of the state-owned property.

Officials from the Ministry of Public Administration and the Presidential Secretariat visited the residence to take inventory, but difficulties arose in determining which items belong to the state and which are personal property of the former President.

The former President's team informed officials that some items were brought from Temple Trees and the President's House and requested that these items be separated before removal. They emphasized that only after this identification could personal belongings of the former President be removed.

However, ...