#fleeing #Rajapaksas #cash #handed #Sri #Lanka #Police
Millions of rupees in cash left behind by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa when he fled his official residence in the capital will be handed over to the court on Monday, police said.
Protesters discovered 17.85 million rupees (about US$50,000) in fresh new banknotes but handed them over to police after the storming of the presidential palace on Saturday.
“The cash was taken by the police and will be presented in court today,” said a police spokesman.
Official sources said a suitcase full of documents was also left at the stately mansion.
Rajapaksa took up residence in the two-century-old building after being evicted from his private home on March 31 when protesters tried to storm it.
The 73-year-old leader escaped through a back door under escort from naval personnel and was taken by boat to the northeast of the island, official sources told AFP.
His exact whereabouts were not known as of Monday morning, but Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Rajapaksa had officially informed him of his intention to step down.
Wickremesinghe, 73, will automatically become acting president if Rajapaksa resigns, but has himself declared his willingness to step down if consensus is reached on forming a unity government.
Rajapaksa had previously told Parliament Speaker Mahinda Abeywardana that he would resign Wednesday to allow for a “peaceful transition,” hours after he was evicted from his official residence.
Tens of thousands of protesters took over Rajapaksa’s seafront office shortly after overrunning the palace on Saturday.
Demonstrators have camped outside the presidential secretariat for over three months, demanding his resignation over the country’s unprecedented economic crisis.
Rajapaksa is accused of running the economy so badly that the country has run out of foreign exchange to finance even its most important imports, causing dire hardships for the 22 million people.
Thousands of men and women Monday continued to occupy state buildings they took over over the weekend, vowing to remain there until Rajapaksa resigns.
The streets leading to the palace were clogged on Sunday with tens of thousands of people visiting the mansion, which had previously been the most heavily guarded building in the country.
An effigy of Rajapaksa was hung on a clock tower near the palace.
Protesters are also demanding the resignation of Wickremesinghe, an opposition MP who was appointed prime minister in May to try to steer the country out of its economic crisis.
Sri Lanka defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt in April and is in talks with the IMF over a possible bailout.
Sri Lanka has nearly depleted its already tight fuel supplies. The government has ordered the closure of non-essential offices and schools to reduce commuting and save fuel.
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