Good day, Today a news has come stating that State minister from Sri Lanka loses life in a road accident. Stay with in this article to find out more about this news. Sri Lankan State Minister Sanath Nishantha and a constable from his security team lost their lives in a car crash on Thursday morning, as confirmed by the police. According to a statement from Sri Lanka Police, the 48-year-old state minister for water supplies was traveling in an SUV that collided with the rear end of a freight container truck en route to Colombo at 2 am.
The driver of the vehicle suffered severe injuries and was subsequently admitted to Ragama hospital, as reported by News First Lanka, citing the police statement. His remains are currently placed in a temporary hall at his party office in the Arachchikattuwa area. Since the arrival of the remains, a significant number of politicians, friends, and party members have arrived to pay their final respects. In the meantime, the last rites of the State Minister’s security officer, who also lost his life in the same car accident, were conducted on the previous day at the Kandy-Hadeniya-Maravanagoda Public Cemetery. Additionally, the mobile phone of the State Minister’s driver has been taken into police custody for investigations.
Who Is Sanath Nishantha?
Welisara Magistrate Thusitha Dhammika has ordered his remand until February 5 after examining him. The driver is currently receiving treatment at Ragama Hospital. Nishantha initially entered politics by contesting the Arachchikattuwa Divisional Council in the 1997 local elections under the Sri Lanka Freedom Party banner. Despite an initial unsuccessful attempt, he later secured a seat on the council after the assassination of Chairman-elect Saman Premachandra. In 2004, Nishantha participated in the provincial council elections for the North Western Province and successfully won a seat. He continued to run in subsequent elections in 2009 and 2013, achieving reelection both times and garnering the highest number of preferential votes in 2013, totaling 62,996 votes in the Puttalam District.
During his tenure in the provincial council, Nishantha held significant roles, including his appointment as the Minister of Fisheries, Highways, and Power for the province on May 31, 2010, by Chief Minister Athula Wijesinghe. Nishantha entered parliamentary elections for the first time in 2015 and secured a seat with 80,082 preferential votes. During Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidency, he held various positions, initially serving as the Minister of State for Fisheries and later transitioning to the Minister of State for Water Supply. After the mass resignation of the Sri Lankan cabinet in the aftermath of the 2022 protests, Nishantha was relieved of his ministerial roles. However, with the election of Ranil Wickremesinghe as president, he was reinstated as the Minister of State for Water Supply, a position he held from September 8, 2022, until his demise.
