Sri Lanka parliament votes to fire impeached police chief

COLOMBO: 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.

Courtesy: aljazeera