Latest news with #Tennakoon
The Star
22-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Sri Lanka to sack police chief over criminal ties
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's police chief is set to be sacked, the country's speaker of parliament announced Tuesday (July 22) after he was found guilty of heading a criminal network at an impeachment hearing. Inspector-General Deshabandu Tennakoon would become the first head of police in the island's history to be impeached after being deemed unfit to lead its 85,000-strong police force. A three-member committee, appointed by the parliament, unanimously found Tennakoon guilty of the allegations brought against him, said speaker Jagath Wickramaratne. "This marks a historic moment in our constitutional journey, the first time in the history... that such a committee has submitted its findings recommending the removal of an Inspector General of Police". An impeachment vote will be scheduled and is expected to pass in the 225-member parliament, where President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's government holds a two-thirds majority. Tennakoon was appointed police chief in November 2023, despite Sri Lanka's highest court ruling that he had tortured a suspect in custody by rubbing menthol balm on the victim's genitals. He also stands accused of authorising an ill-fated raid in 2023, which triggered a gun battle between rival police units in the coastal resort town of Weligama and led to the death of an officer. Sri Lanka's apex court suspended him in July 2024, pending the outcome of a separate case that questioned the legality of his appointment by former president Ranil Wickremesinghe. A state prosecutor told the court this year that Tennakoon was the "head of a criminal network". This latest move against Tennakoon comes days after the independent National Police Commission sacked the number two officer in the police force, Senior Deputy Inspector General Nilantha Jayawardena. Jayawardena was dismissed for negligence leading to the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people. - AFP
Straits Times
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Sri Lanka to sack police chief over criminal ties
Find out what's new on ST website and app. COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's police chief is set to be sacked, the country's Speaker of Parliament announced on July 22 after he was found guilty of heading a criminal network at an impeachment hearing. Inspector-General Deshabandu Tennakoon would become the first head of police in the island's history to be impeached after being deemed unfit to lead its 85,000-strong police force. A three-member committee, appointed by the Parliament, unanimously found the general guilty of the allegations brought against him, said Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne. 'This marks a historic moment in our constitutional journey, the first time in the history... that such a committee has submitted its findings recommending the removal of an Inspector-General of police'. An impeachment vote will be scheduled and is expected to pass in the 225-member parliament, where President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's government holds a two-thirds majority. Tennakoon was appointed police chief in November 2023, despite Sri Lanka's highest court ruling that he had tortured a suspect in custody by rubbing menthol balm on the victim's genitals. He also stands accused of authorising an ill-fated raid in 2023 , which triggered a gun battle between rival police units in the coastal resort town of Weligama and led to the death of an officer. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singaporeans aged 21 to 59 can claim $600 SG60 vouchers from July 22 Singapore Miscalculation of MOH subsidies and grants led to $7m in overpayments, $2m in shortfalls Singapore Changi Airport handles 17.5 million passengers in Q2 2025 Singapore 2 charged over alleged involvement in posting of bail for man who subsequently absconded Singapore Teen charged after allegedly selling vaporisers, advertising e-cigarettes on WhatsApp Life Having a workout partner could be the secret to sticking to your fitness goals Singapore 2,500 turtles seized in India and sent back to S'pore, put down humanely after salmonella detected Singapore Ports and planes: The 2 Singapore firms helping to keep the world moving Sri Lanka's apex court suspended him in July 2024, pending the outcome of a separate case that questioned the legality of his appointment by former president Ranil Wickremesinghe. A state prosecutor told the court in 2025 that Tennakoon was the 'head of a criminal network'. This latest move against Tennakoon comes days after the independent National Police Commission sacked the No. 2 officer in the police force, Senior Deputy Inspector General Nilantha Jayawardena. Gen Jayawardena was dismissed for negligence leading to the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people. AFP
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Old celebration picture resurfaces as jailed Sri Lanka police chief gets bail
"Underworld Deshabandu celebrates new year thanks to your help," reads a Sinhala-language Facebook post published on April 14, 2025. It goes on to sarcastically thank Sri Lanka's ministers of justice and public security for police chief Deshabandu Tennakoon's release from jail after a magistrate in the southern city of Matara granted him bail (archived link). "Many police officers who cannot do anything at all are in prison. Thanks to your support, Deshabandu can celebrate the new year," adds the post, which also shares a picture of him lighting a fire in apparent celebration with family. Tennakoon was appointed Inspector General of Police in November 2023, despite Sri Lanka's highest court ruling that he had tortured a suspect in custody. A court ordered his arrest in February for authorising an ill-fated raid which triggered a gun battle between rival police units in the coastal resort town of Weligama. An officer was killed in the shoot-out. He went on the run for two weeks before turning himself in mid-March. Legislators had voted unanimously to open a formal investigation into his conduct, and he is widely expected to be impeached unless he resigns (archived link). Similar Facebook posts also shared the picture following Tennakoon's release on bail on April 10, four days before Sri Lanka celebrates its traditional New Year. But a reverse image search on Google found the photo was posted on his Facebook account on April 14, 2024 (archived link). It was part of an album showing the police chief marking the occasion with his family and was captioned in Sinhala: "Celebrated the New Year 2024 at home". A review of Tennakoon's Facebook account shows the latest post was on February 4, and does not mention New Year celebrations after his release. AFP has previously debunked misinformation related to the controversial police chief.
AFP
23-04-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Old celebration picture resurfaces as jailed Sri Lanka police chief gets bail
"Underworld Deshabandu celebrates new year thanks to your help," reads a Sinhala-language Facebook post published on April 14, 2025. It goes on to sarcastically thank Sri Lanka's ministers of justice and public security for police chief Deshabandu Tennakoon's release from jail after a magistrate in the southern city of Matara granted him bail (archived link). Image Screenshot of the misleading post taken on April 22, 2025 Tennakoon was appointed Inspector General of Police in November 2023, despite Sri Lanka's highest court ruling that he had tortured a suspect in custody. A court ordered his arrest in February for authorising an ill-fated raid which triggered a gun battle between rival police units in the coastal resort town of Weligama. An officer was killed in the shoot-out. He went on the run for two weeks before turning himself in mid-March. Legislators had voted unanimously to open a formal investigation into his conduct, and he is widely expected to be impeached unless he resigns (archived link). Similar Facebook posts also shared the picture following Tennakoon's release on bail on April 10, four days before Sri Lanka celebrates its traditional New Year. But a reverse image search on Google found the photo was posted on his Facebook account on April 14, 2024 (archived link). It was part of an album showing the police chief marking the occasion with his family and was captioned in Sinhala: "Celebrated the New Year 2024 at home". Image Screenshot comparison of the picture as seen in the misleading post (left) and on Tennakoon's Facebook account A review of Tennakoon's Facebook account shows the latest post was on February 4, and does not mention New Year celebrations after his release. AFP has previously debunked misinformation related to the controversial police chief.
AFP
27-03-2025
- AFP
Old clip shared as Sri Lanka police chief's remarks on evading arrest
"Escaping is not a solution. A statement from Deshabandu," reads a Sinhala-language Facebook post on March 19 that features footage of Tennakoon making the same remarks. It was shared on the same day he surrendered to authorities and was remanded in custody after more than a fortnight on the run (archived link). Tennakoon 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. The island nation's ruling coalition said it would sack Tennakoon (archived link). Image Screenshot of the false post taken on March 20, 2025 Tennakoon's video also surfaced in similar posts on Facebook but the footage is old. A closer inspection of the clip found it bears a hovering text overlay that reads, "Neth News YouTube". Using this term and other relevant keywords, AFP traced the video to a longer interview uploaded December 21, 2023 on the YouTube channel of local broadcaster Neth News (archived link). Tennakoon's remarks at the 14:20 mark of the report corresponds to the falsely shared footage. He was responding to a question about why the police were disclosing details of their anti-drug operations before these were conducted. Tennakoon warned drug distributors could run away but they cannot escape the law. Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (L) and the interview published in December 2023 Police spokesperson Buddhika Manatunga told AFP on March 26 that Thennakoon has not issued any public remarks as he awaits trial and the video "is not a recent statement".
