Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the son of the former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa was taken into custody by police on Saturday. According to reports, he has been detained over graft charges in a property purchasing case.  

The former navy officer, Yoshitha was captured by police from his home territory of Beliatta. As per the reports, he was detained over the accused delinquency in a property purchasing case during his father’s regime before 2015. Yoshitha is the second child among the three of his father’s sons. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who shares biological relations with his father was also inquired by the police over the same misconduct last week. 

The alleged misconduct is related to the property, a holiday home in the southern religious resort of Kataragama. The development comes after Mahinda Rajapaksa filed a fundamental rights petition in the Supreme Court on Friday. His petition sought the the intervention of the Apex in restoring his security which was greatly reduced by the government last month. 

Since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's new government was formed in November of last year, Mahinda Rajapaksa's eldest son and lawmaker Namal Rajapaksa was questioned by police in connection with another property dispute involving one of his employees. Before the elections, the new administration had promised to detain all those suspected of misconduct during Mahinda Rajapaksa's 2005–2015 rule.