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Al Jazeera
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Sri Lanka parliament votes to fire impeached police chief
Sri Lanka's Parliament has voted to fire the country's police chief for misconduct and gross abuse of power in the island's first impeachment of an inspector general. Lawmakers on Tuesday voted to sack Deshabandu Tennakoon, who was accused of sending a team of armed officers on a botched raid in 2023 in Weligama that triggered a gun battle with a separate police unit, leading to the death of an officer. No one opposed his removal while one member abstained. The decision came after a parliament-appointed committee opened an inquiry into the allegations against Tennakoon and last month released a report that found him guilty of 19 charges related to misconduct and abuse of power. The committee found that he had 'spearheaded the questionable, illegal act of shooting' at the W15 hotel in Weligama, where a local police unit opened fire on a team sent by Tennakoon to intimidate the hotel's owner. A state prosecutor told the committee that the police chief, who headed a force of 85,000 officers, was running a 'criminal network' and was unfit to serve, even at the lowest ranks. There has been no reaction from Tennakoon since the impeachment process was initiated last month. The 54-year-old is the first head of police in the island's history to be dismissed. He was appointed police chief in 2023 by then-President Ranil Wickremesinghe despite protests from opposition lawmakers and civil rights activists who said he was not fit for the post. Before his appointment, Sri Lanka's highest court had ruled that he tortured a suspect in custody by rubbing menthol balm on his genitals.
Khaleej Times
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Sri Lanka to sack jailed police chief over a botched drug raid
Sri Lanka's ruling party said on Tuesday it would sack the island nation's police chief, who is in custody awaiting trial over a botched drug raid that resulted in an officer's death. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's ruling coalition submitted a resolution to that effect in parliament, beginning a lengthy legal process to dismiss Inspector-General Deshabandu Tennakoon. "We hope the speaker will act promptly on the resolution," lawmaker and deputy labour minister Mahinda Jayasinghe told reporters outside the legislature. "We want him removed on four counts -- corruption, misconduct, abuse of power, and gross partiality in office." Dissanayake is required to address parliament before appointing a three-member panel to investigate the allegations. If Tennakoon is found guilty, an absolute majority of lawmakers must endorse his removal. Dissanayake's leftist National People Power (NPP) coalition has the numbers to comfortably remove Tennakoon after a landslide election victory last year. The police chief turned himself in to authorities last week after more than a fortnight on the run from an arrest warrant. He stands accused of authorising an ill-fated drug bust in 2023, allegedly in violation of internal regulations, which triggered a gun battle between competing police units in the southern coastal resort town of Weligama. One police officer was killed, and another was critically wounded in the incident. No drugs were found. Tennakoon was appointed police chief in November 2023, but the move was challenged in the Supreme Court, which suspended him last July pending the outcome of a separate case. He was given the top job despite Sri Lanka's highest court ruling that he had tortured a suspect in custody by rubbing menthol balm on his genitals. The Supreme Court ordered Tennakoon to pay half a million rupees ($1,666) in compensation to the victim, but the previous government ignored judicial orders to take disciplinary action against him. State prosecutor Dileepa Peeris told a court last week that Tennakoon was the "head of a criminal network" and unfit to lead the 85,000-strong police force.
