Sri Lankan authorities are investigating a claim that the toppled president's younger brother ran a "death squad" and ordered a high-profile newspaper editor's assassination.
Former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse ordered the hit on Lasantha Wickrematunga in January 2009, ex-public relations minister Mervyn Silva alleged in a formal complaint lodged with police Saturday, a police spokesman said on Sunday.
Wickrematunga was fatally shot in 2009, just days before he was due to testify in a defamation case Rajapakse had filed against his paper, which had been highly critical of the then-ruling family.
"We have received a complaint that Gotabhaya Rajapakse was responsible for abductions, assaults and murder," police spokesman Ajith Rohana said.
"Three murders have been mentioned and one is that of Lasantha Wickrematunga. He (Rajapakse) is accused of running a death squad."
Rajapakse could not be contacted for comment.
Wickrematunga and his Sunday Leader newspaper were vocal critics of Rajapakse's administration, and had accused Gotabhaya of corruption over the purchase of second-hand aircraft and arms for the military.
At the time, the government denied it was behind Wickrematunga's killing, but Saturday's complaint reopens the unsolved murder case.
Since Mahinda Rajapakse's defeat during January 8 presidential elections, complaints have flooded a Sri Lankan anti-graft commission alleging huge corruption by members of his administration.
The ex-leader himself faces allegations that he tried to use military force and remain in office when it became clear during the vote count that he was headed for a defeat.
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