Sawt Falasteen - Sri Lanka police seek public help to arrest chief

Spokesman Buddhika Manatunga said they had been unable to find Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon despite deploying several special units.

"We urge the public to provide any information about his whereabouts," Manatunga told reporters in Colombo.

"We also warn that anyone harbouring the IGP will be prosecuted for obstructing justice."

Manatunga admitted that the failure to locate their own chief had "undermined public confidence in the police force".

A foreign travel ban has been imposed in case he tries to flee the island.

"It is a serious matter, and we are working with more vigour to arrest him," he added.

"As someone who is aware of the law, the IGP should have complied with the court order and surrendered," Manatunga said.

A magistrate ordered Tennakoon's arrest last week following allegations that he had authorised an illegal raid on a hotel in 2023.

Tennakoon had ordered a unit from Colombo to search for illegal drugs at the hotel in the southern coastal resort town of Weligama, about 150 kilometres (95 miles) from the capital.

Local police, unaware of the undercover operation, confronted the unit, sparking a gun battle in which one officer was killed and another was critically wounded.

No drugs were found.

Tennakoon was controversially appointed as police chief in November 2023, but his appointment was challenged in the Supreme Court, which suspended him last July pending the outcome of a hearing.

He was given the top job despite the country's highest court ruling in a separate case that he had tortured a suspect in custody by rubbing menthol balm on his genitals.

The court ordered Tennakoon to pay half a million rupees ($1,600) in compensation to the victim, but the government at the time ignored judicial orders to take disciplinary action against him.

W.Mansour--SF-PST