Sanath Nishantha dies in road accident

State Minister Sanath Nishantha and a police constable who served as his security officer died in an accident on the Katunayake Expressway near Kandana at around 2 am yesterday (25).

The SUV Nishantha was travelling in towards Colombo from Katunayake, crashed into the rear of a container truck before colliding with the safety fence. The state minister, his security officer and the driver of the SUV were seriously injured and admitted to the Ragama hospital.

The state minister and the police constable had been pronounced dead upon admission, and the driver was undergoing treatment in the ICU of the Ragama Hospital, police said.

They were returning after attending two weddings in Chilaw. Nishantha is survived by his wife attorney-at-law Chamari Perera, and four children.A number of SLPP MPs arrived at the hospital after they heard of the incident.

MP Chamal Rajapaksa said that Nishantha was one of the greatest admirers of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said mobs had destroyed Sanath Nishantha’s residence in Puttalam and therefore he had been compelled to travel to Colombo at night.