Ranil Wickremesinghe Visits Madurai Temple Amid Sri Lanka Funds Probe

He was accompanied by his wife, Maithri Wickremesinghe, during the temple visit, which was held under tight security arrangements by local police.

Wickremesinghe and his wife arrived in India on Friday.

The world-famous Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple attracts thousands of devotees from across the country and abroad every day.

The visit comes at a sensitive time for the former president, who was named a suspect in an ongoing investigation into the alleged misuse of government funds for a private overseas trip involving ten individuals.

According to Daily Mirror Online, Colombo Fort Magistrate Nilupuli Lankapura granted him bail in August, releasing him on three sureties of LKR 5 million each. The case involves an alleged misappropriation of LKR 16.6 million.

Last month, Wickremesinghe was ordered to appear in court on January 28, 2026, for his next hearing in connection with an ongoing investigation into the alleged misappropriation of state funds.

The case concerns expenses incurred during a visit to a UK university, which Wickremesinghe attended while returning from a United Nations meeting.

Wickremesinghe, a six-time prime minister, became Sri Lanka's interim president in July 2022 after the ouster of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He later contested the 2024 presidential election but lost to Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the National People's Power.

- ANI