Bandarawela Magistrate Peter Paul recently instructed the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Diyatalawa Police to apprehend all responsible parties involved in the Fox Hill Supercross racing calamity of 2024 and produce them before him forthwith.
He also instructed those from the Sri Lanka Automobile Sports (SLAS) and the Sri Lanka Army Military Academy Diyatalawa, who were the joint organisers of the event, to be present in the court on or before 20 May.
The tragedy on 21 April 2024 which was the ‘worst in the annals’ of the local motor racing firmament, took the lives of eight persons while injuring some 22 others.
This was after two racing vehicles lost control amidst the plumes of dust and ploughed into a crowd of onlookers prompting the organisers to cancel the event pronto.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, a detailed magisterial inquiry was carried at the accident site, while the latest judicial order has been issued after a lengthy consideration of all available evidence gathered during the 12-month long probe.
Magistrate Peter Paul announced his ruling after deeming that event organisers had failed to implement requisite and adequate safety measures to protect spectators at the racing event.
He also instructed the Diyatalawa Police to carry out a thorough inquiry into the circumstances that led to the calamity in the first place and submit its findings to the court.
The magistrate further advised the investigating officers to seek an official stance from the Attorney General’s (AG) Department related to the case.
In the wake of the accident at the Fox Hill Supercross, the two drivers involved in the accident – Ranjith Uluwita and Dilan Adikari were arrested, and produced in court, but were enlarged on bail subsequently, pending further inquiries.
Diyatalawa Police informed the Court that further investigations into the infamous tragedy at the popular racing event which was only revived in 2024 after being put on hold since 2019 following that year’s Easter Sunday carnage, were still proceeding.
Meanwhile, the outcomes of two separate probes conducted by the SLAS and the Sri Lanka Army Military Academy Diyatalawa, following the now unprecedented catastrophe, still continue to be shrouded in mystery, with neither party having released the reports into the public domain.
(JK)