Ex Social Services Officer arrested over disability grant fraud

2026-02-25 - 07:07

A former Social Services Officer attached to the Katana Divisional Secretariat was arrested on February 24, 2026 over a corruption case involving a disability education grant. The suspect has been identified as Kuda Peduru Arachchilage Saman Sriyarathna. He was taken into custody at around 12:45 PM by investigators of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC). According to investigators, he is accused of fraudulently obtaining an education assistance grant of Rs. 10,000 provided by the National Secretariat for Persons with Disabilities. The grant is given only once per child. Authorities say he applied for the payment using the names of two children and then used the money for his personal purposes instead of giving it to the relevant beneficiaries. The arrested suspect is scheduled to be produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court.