(SLB) Director of Police Special Investigation Unit Senior Superintendent of Police D.S. Wickramasinghe has been transferred as the Director of Research and Development Division of the Police Department with immediate effect.
He was allegdly threatened by the Senior Deputy Inspector General of Western Province, Deshbandu Tennakoon, for investigating the money found in the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s offcial residence in Colombo.
According to his complainet loged on 13 January 2023, Deshbandu Tennakoon threatened him for reporting facts related to the nearly 1.8 million ruppes found at the presidential palce by the protestrors who captured it.
Deshbandu Tennakoon had ordered the head of Colombo-Fort Police Station to hand over the money found in the Presidential Palace to Law and Order Minister Tiran Alas without presenting it to the court.
This was reported to the Colombo-Fort Magistrate’s Court on January 13m 2023 by Director of SIU, Senior Superintendent of Police D.S. Wickramasinghe.
The director of the SIU stated that the Senior DIG had threatened him by making phone calls and saying, ‘I will take care of you.’
SIU operates directly under the supervision of the Inspector General of Police.
The Senior Superintendent of Police further report to the court that he is in fear of Deshbandu Tennakoon trying to get him involved in some other incident to take revenge or endangering his life or that of his family members.
The Senior Superintendent of Police further informed the court that he has made notes regarding this threat and hopes to complain about it to the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission in the future.
The lawyers appearing for this case stated that the SIU Directir, Senior Superintendent of Police had submitted the relevant report to the court as per a court order and that threatening him was an insult to the court. The lawyers also stated that this is an offense under the protection of witnesses and victims.
Earlier, the head of Fort Police Station told the Fort Court that Deshbandu Tennakoon informed him over the phone to handed over the money to Minister Tiran Alas without presenting it to the court.
In the meantime, the Police Special Investigation Unit also informed the court that the Inspector General of Police informed them to take permission from the court to transfer this investigation from the Police Special Investigation Unit to the Criminal Investigation Department.
In protest, the lawyers said that if the investigation to be handed over to another unit by the Inspector General of Police, and the intervention of the court is not necessary.
The lawyers also pointed out to the court that the investigation should be handed over to another division only if the Special Investigation Unit is not investigating properly, and that there is no need to hand over the investigation to another division because the Police Special Investigation Unit is conducting the investigation properly.
Meanwhile, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in a statement to the police said that he received this money from SLPP fund for the repairing burnt houses of politicians representing the the SLPP .
Responding to Gota’s statement, sectray general of the SLPP said that their political party does not have such a fund.
25.07.2023. SLB.
( witht he inputs froma Sinhala language artcle දේශබන්දු ගැන විමර්ශනය කළ නිසා තර්ජනයට ලක්වූ විශේෂ විමර්ශන ඒකකයේ අධ්යක්ෂ පර්යේෂණ අංශයට මාරු කරයි ! published in thetimelk.com.)