Sri Lanka’s Attorney General’s Department has accused Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon of operating a criminal network using police officers under his command.
During a hearing at the Court of Appeal regarding Tennakoon’s petition to halt his arrest, Additional Solicitor General Dilipa Peiris made damning revelations about the embattled police chief, describing him as having wielded his power to run a “paramilitary force”.
Peiris stated that Tennakoon had orchestrated an attack on the W15 Hotel in Weligama, using officers from the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD). The attack, which resulted in the fatal shooting of a police sergeant, was reportedly linked to a personal dispute between Tennakoon and the hotel owner.
Beyond this specific incident, the Attorney General’s Department argued that Tennakoon had consistently misused police resources for his own benefit, deploying officers to settle personal conflicts and act as enforcers outside the remit of law. Despite being issued with an arrest warrant on February 27, the police chief has continued to evade authorities, prompting law enforcement to actively search for him.
The Court of Appeal is set to deliver its ruling on Tennakoon’s petition on March 17.
Tennakoon’s controversial tenure as Sri Lanka’s top police officer has been marred by serious accusations of misconduct, human rights abuses, and corruption. He was appointed as Inspector General of Police in November 2023, despite the Supreme Court having previously ruled that he had tortured a suspect in police custody. The court ordered him to pay compensation to the victim, but no disciplinary action was taken against him at the time.
The current arrest warrant stems from an unauthorised police raid in Weligama on December 31, 2023, where local officers clashed with an undercover unit from Colombo, resulting in a shootout that killed a police sergeant and left another officer critically wounded.
Despite being Sri Lanka’s most senior police officer, Tennakoon has been in hiding for weeks, even as authorities claim to be searching for him. While police spokesmen have urged the public to report Tennakoon’s whereabouts, critics argue that his ability to remain at large suggests high-level protection from within the state apparatus.
