Thirty seven defendants in the murder case of Member of Parliament Amarakeerthi Athukorala have been granted bail by a three-judge bench of the Gampaha Court.

Former MP Athukorala, who was elected to Parliament from Polonnaruwa District representing the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, was murdered on May 9 last year when violence broke out across the country following the attack on activists at the Galle Face Green.

The MP was murdered in Nittambuwa while he was on his way to his home in Polonnaruwa from Temple Trees, Colombo.

The MP’s security officer sergeant Jayantha Gunawardena was also killed.