“I welcome the investigation. This will help our family to clear our names,” Rajapaksa told reporters.
“But the timing of the investigation suggests that the government is trying to make political capital out of it,” he added, alluding to the next week’s parliamentary elections, which he is contesting.
Police on Sunday said the body of rugby star Wasim <g data-gr-id="30">Thajudeen</g> will be exhumed tomorrow for forensic tests after a magisterial order issued last week, following allegations that authorities covered up the investigation during Rajapaksa’s regime.
Thajudeen’s car was found burnt in May 2012 with his body inside and though police <g data-gr-id="27">has</g> recorded the death as a motor accident, local media have reported that <g data-gr-id="36">Thajudeen</g> was killed over a personal dispute that involved Rajapaksa’s second son <g data-gr-id="37">Yoshitha</g>, a fellow rugby player.
After Rajapaksa, 69, was defeated in the January presidential poll by his deputy Maithripala Sirisena, fresh evidence emerged which suggested that all police records on Thajudeen’s murder may have been tampered with.
A CCTV footage from the neighbourhood also emerged which suggested that <g data-gr-id="26">Thajudeen</g> was abducted before his death.
Last month, police told a court that they had fresh evidence in the case and wanted to re-open the case, while government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne accused three members of Rajapaksa’s security contingent as the men who abducted and killed <g data-gr-id="32">Thajudeen</g>.
Rajapaksa on Sunday assured that he would continue the investigation after August 17 elections if his party UPFA wins the parliamentary election. He is running for the parliament in the August 17 poll, becoming Sri Lanka’s first former president to do so after demitting the office.