Lanka Ex Minister Basil Rajapaksa's Dubai Escape Dashed By Flyers: Sources

Tuesday, 12 July 2022newsdesk

Basil Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's former finance minister, tried to flee to Dubai amid the wave of protests in the country but had to stay back after people at the airport identified him and immigration officers refused to clear his journey, sources have said.

New Delhi, 11 July 2022

As per news report of NDTV, Mr Rajapaksa, brother of Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was trying to leave the country this morning through the VIP terminal at Colombo international airport when people recognised him and objected to him leaving the country, a source said. Widely circulated images, the authenticity of which NDTV cannot verify, show the former minister at the airport lounge. The sources said he reached the check-in counter at 12.15 am and was there till 3.15 am as immigration officials refused to clear him. He had to eventually leave the airport after the immigration officers did not clear him, the sources added. The Sri Lanka Immigration and Emigration Officers Association told news agency Reuters that its members declined to serve Basil Rajapaksa at the VIP departure lounge of the Colombo airport.

Source -NDTV