Srilanka, June 8 -- The Presidential Secretariat yesterday requested the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to probe the unauthorised release of a convict who was not originally included in the President's Vesak amnesty list.

"This person's name was not included in the list of 388 prisoners approved by the President for release under the Vesak amnesty and we believe that a serious irregularity has occurred. We are calling for an impartial and extensive CID probe," a Presidential spokesman said. W.H. Athula Tilakaratne had been serving a sentence at the Anuradhapura Prison for financial fraud, a category which is generally not eligible for Presidential pardons on special days such as Vesak. However, he has been purportedly released...