COLOMBO — 2010 · Missing Person

The Disappearance of Cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda

Under InvestigationSources: ALast updated: 14 October 2026

Prageeth Eknaligoda, a cartoonist and political commentator for the Lanka eNews website, left his workplace in Colombo on the evening of 24 January 2010 saying he was meeting an acquaintance, and was never seen again. His disappearance came two days before the presidential election; he had been briefly abducted and released a year earlier. Reports submitted to court by the Criminal Investigation Department alleged the involvement of people linked to military intelligence. A trial of nine defendants began before a special bench in Colombo in November 2019. Despite years of campaigning by his wife Sandya Eknaligoda, his fate remains unknown.

Date: 2010
Place: Western Province, Sri Lanka, Colombo, LK
Category: Missing Person
Case Status: Under Investigation
Coordinates: 6.9120, 79.8930 ↗

Timeline of Events

August 2009Eknaligoda was briefly abducted and released.
24 January 2010He disappeared after leaving work.
2015Army intelligence personnel were detained in a reopened inquiry.

November 2019A trial of nine defendants began in Colombo.
2026The trial continues; he has not been found.

Sources

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