FOLLOWING THE WELIGAMA SHOOTING, THE PARLIAMENT OF SRI LANKA PASSED A RESOLUTION TO APPOINT A COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY TO REMOVE T.M.W. TENNAKOON FROM THE OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE
THE COMMITTEE ON MAY 7, 2025, HAS SERVED DESHABANDU TENNAKOON A CHARGE SHEET DIRECTING HIM TO SHOW-CAUSE BEFORE THE COMMITTEE
OUT OF THE 23 CHARGES ISSUED AGAINST THE RESPONDENT IGP, THE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY HAS FOUND TENNAKOON GUILTY OF 19 CHARGES
AS A RESULT OF GIVING FALSE EVIDENCE BEFORE THE COMMITTEE, IT HAD RECOMMENDED THE NATIONAL POLICE COMMISSION TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST DIG JAGATH CHANDRA KUMARA AND ASP (RTD.) NEVILLE DE SILVA
WHEN VERIFYING MORE DETAILS INTO THE INCIDENT, DIG DE ZOYSA HAD UNDERSTOOD WHAT ASP NEVILLE’S STORY ON THE SHOOTING CONTRADICTS WITH WHAT WAS DESCRIBED BY THE POLICE AUTHORITIES IN MATARA AREA
ALTHOUGH TENNAKOON’S NAME WAS NOT APPROVED BY THE CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL (CC) AS THE IGP, THE THEN PRESIDENT RANIL WICKREMASINGHE APPOINTED HIM AS THE COUNTRY’S 36TH IGP ON FEBRUARY 26, 2024. IN NEARLY 40 CASES AGAINST HIM, TENNAKOON WAS EITHER A RESPONDENT OR AN ACCUSED IN THE SUPREME COURT AND THE COURT OF APPEAL
By Nirmala Kannangara/Daily Mirror.
The Committee of Inquiry appointed in terms of Section 6 of the Removal of Officers (Procedure) Act No: 5 of 2002 to investigate and inquire into the allegations levelled against Deshabandu Tennakoon (Full name Tennakoon Mudiyanselage Wanshalankara Deshabandu Tennakoon) and to remove him from the office of the Inspector General of Police, has observed that Tennakoon has committed one or more acts of misconduct and gross abuse of power in his capacity as the Inspector General of Police, bringing Sri Lanka Police into disrepute.
Deshabandu Tennakoon was accused of misusing his powers and giving an unlawful order to a police team to fire at the W15 hotel in Weligama. This resulted in one police officer succumbing to gunshot injuries and another getting injured on December 31, 2023.
The Supreme Court issued an interim order on July 24, 2024, on the controversial appointment of Deshabandu Tennakoon as the IGP, following many petitions filed in the SC challenging the constitutionality and appropriateness of his appointment. However until he was ousted from his post, was paid the IGP’s salary, other allowances and privileges except for the food allowance and two other allowances payable to a serving officer.
Following the Weligama shooting, The Parliament of Sri Lanka has passed a resolution to appoint a Committee of Inquiry in terms of Section 5 of the Removal of Officers (Procedure) Act, No: 5 of 2002 to remove T.M.W. Tennakoon from the office of Inspector General of Police (IGP) for misconduct and gross abuse of power in terms of Section 3(d) and 3€ read with Section 5 of the said Act.
The Speaker of Parliament appointed a three member Committee of Inquiry headed by Justice P. Padman Surasena – who is now the Chief Justice and Justice (Rtd.) Neil Iddawela as a Member and Lalith Ekanayake – (Chairman National Police Commission) as the ex officio Member.
The Committee on May 7, 2025, has served Deshabandu Tennakoon a charge sheet directing him to show-cause before the Committee as to why this Committee should not make findings against him in respect of the alleged 23 charges served on him.
Out of the 23 charges issued against the Respondent IGP, the Committee of Inquiry has found Tennakoon guilty for 19 charges. They are charges no: 1- 10, 13-19 and 22- 23. The Committee states that it doesn’t need to give additional reasons to show how the person holding the highest office in the Sri Lanka Police, who is entrusted with the primary task of maintaining law and order of the entire country, has brought disrepute to Sri Lanka Police.
Following the issuance of this report, it is alleged that Sri Lanka Police is the only Police Department in the world where a serving IGP has been ousted from office for gross abuse of power. As per the Committee report, Tennakoon- the Respondent IGP has abused the power of IGP’s office in terms of Sections 3(d) and 3(e) of the Removal of Officers (Procedure) Act No: 5 of 2002.
Although Tennakoon’s name was not approved by the Constitutional Council (CC) as the IGP, the then President Ranil Wickremasinghe appointed him as the country’s 36th IGP on February 26, 2024. In nearly 40 cases against him, Tennakoon was either a respondent or an accused in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. On the grounds of having a history of violating Fundamental Rights of people, criminal charges and allegations of unlawful activities, questions were raised on what grounds Tennakoon was appointed to the helm of the Police Department.
Meanwhile questions have also been raised why the long arm of justice has so far failed to take action against the two police officers- DIG Kapugamaralalage Jagath Chandra Kumara and ASP Neville de Silva for giving false evidence before the Committee of Inquiry.
In its report dated July 21st, 2025, the Committee of Inquiry has also questioned the conduct of the said two Senior Police Officers who along with Tennakoon had given instruction for the unlawful operation at Weligama. As a result of giving false evidence before the Committee, it had recommended the National Police Commission to take action against DIG Jagath Chandra Kumara and ASP (Rtd.) Neville de Silva.
On December 30, 2023, whilst holding the office of the Acting IGP/ Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police of the Western Province, Deshabandu Tennakoon and DIG Jagath Chandra Kumara, who was in charge of Colombo District, and Acting Director CCD ASP Neville de Silva have sent an eight member armed police team from the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) to Pelena in Weligama on a secret and illegal ‘mission’ ordering to open fire at W15 hotel to frighten persons who were involved in parties that involved narcotic substances on the New Year’s Eve.
However, there was no approved police form numbering 439 and covering letters from the Acting IGP, DIG in charge of the CCD of the Acting Director CCD for the ‘assigned duty’ at the time the CCD team had left for Weligama on December 30, 2023.
The team that went to Weligama was led by Chief Inspector (CI) Anslem de Silva along with Inspectors of Police (IP) Mahesh Dunusinghe and Jagath Nishantha, Sub Inspector (SI) Roshan Maduranga and Police Sergeants (PS) Upul Chaminda and Prasantha Kumara, Police Constable (PC) Supun Priyashan and PC Driver Gihan Piyatissa.
Giving evidence before the Committee, CI Anslem de Silva, who led the CCD team to Weligama, has stated that all his superior officers- Acting IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon, DIG Jagath Chandra Kumara and Acting Director CCD ASP Neville de Silva on December 29, 2023, directed him to go to Weligama with a team the following day. He has further stated by the time they had left for Weligama on December 30, 2023, around 8pm, they were not given any written permission for this ‘unlawful operation’ by these three officers.
At the inquiry, although Rtd. ASP Neville de Silva said that he did not know that the team led by CI Anslem de Silva went for an illegal mission to Weligama, the latter however giving evidence before the Committee has stated that Acting Director CCD, ASP Neville de Silva was one of the top three officers that wanted him to go to Weligama along with the other officers with specific instructions- to open fire at W15 hotel.
CI Anslem de Silva has also stated how ASP Neville de Silva told him, that steps have been taken to keep the police authorities in Matara area informed about this ‘operation’.
Giving further evidence, witness CI De Silva has stated that he entered his out entry in the police information book of Unit 1 of the CCD, to indicate that he and his team are going to Matara area for an investigation although he knew that he was going to open fire at W15 hotel; which is an unlawful act.
Police Constable Driver (PCD) Dulip Gihan Piyatissa had driven the KDH van bearing registration number WP PK 7225 belonged to the CCD. This team had left CCD at 8.30pm on December 30, 2023. The external appearance of the van has been changed by pasting a sticker that was purchased from a shop at Darley Road, Colombo.
Having left the CCD office, the team had gone to Mount Lavinia where they had replaced the original number plates with fake number plates. The entire team had gone in civvies. Having travelled along the southern highway and after exiting from Kokamaduwa, CI Anslem de Silva had informed his team that they have been ordered to fire at W15 hotel. Since this was an illegal act, he had wanted the vehicle to be parked near the beach in close proximity to the hotel until late. The vehicle was parked this way till the vehicle movement on the road lessened.
Although they arrived in Weligama around 11pm on December 30, 2023, they had execute the unlawful mission at around 2.20am on December 31, 2023. SI Maduranga had aimed at W15 hotel and opened fire from a T56 gun. CI Anslem de Silva had told the Committee that nobody in the vicinity had fired at them, although later on the request of ASP Neville de Silva, he had to fabricate a story that they retaliated with eight or ten rounds of fire as an unidentified person had fired at them in front of the W15 hotel.
The jeep belonging to the Weligama police and used in night vigilance operations had arrived at the scene of crime when SI Maduranga was firing towards the W15 hotel. Seeing the police jeep, the CCD van has overtaken the stationary mobile petrol jeep and fled the scene. While fleeing, the van in which the CCD team was travelling had come under fire from the mobile petrol jeep. Due to this firing PS Upul and SI Maduranga received gunshot injuries.PS Upul later succumbed to his injuries.
Misleading investigations
It was then that this group realised that Acting Director CCD, ASP Neville de Silva had misled them by informing that the area police authorities had been notified about this operation.
Despite the attack, the CCD van had fled with the windscreen shattered and headed back to Colombo. It was at this time that ASP Neville de Silva was informed about the incident, but he has not given any specific instruction as to what they should do next. Without taking the heavily injured two officers to a nearby hospital, the CCD team had moved into a by-road, fixed the original number plates and reached the Imaduwa Highway Entrance.
When they reached the Imaduwa Highway Entrance they had been stopped by the police officers on duty. When the CCD van was stopped, one of the police officers had produced his police identity card and requested them to allow them to proceed towards Colombo, stating that the IGP is aware of this ‘assignment’. But the Highway Police Officers had not allowed entrance and instead taken the van to their custody.
Later around 5.30- 6am, ASP Neville de Silva had gone to Weligama police and instructed the CCD team to give a statement that they retaliated when they had come under fire by an unknown party in front of the W15 hotel. Even the members of the CCD team had given the same fabricated evidence before the Matara Magistrate at the inquest held after the death of PS Upul and later to the CID as well. However, CI De Silva and his team thereafter had volunteered and divulged the true story to the CID in March 2025, knowing the gravity of giving fabricated evidence to mislead the investigation.
CI De Silva had told the Committee that he and his team members had to give fabricated evidence to the Weligama Police, Matara Magistrate and the CID on the instruction of ASP Neville de Silva.
Be that as it may, after the appointment of the Acting IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya in September 2024, the investigation has been transferred to the CID at which point, SI Sudath Pulleperuma, the Personal Assistant to ASP Neville de Silva, on the request of the latter had got another officer, who was on maternity leave, to re-write the Outward Document Register (ODR) in a new book to implicate that the approved Police Form 439 had been sent from ASP Neville de Silva’s office on December 29, 2023, to the request made by CI De Silva seeking permission to travel to Weligama the following day.
Giving evidence before the Committee, SI Pulleperuma has stated that the relevant entry in the ODR, had been made on the request of ASP Neville de Silva. This entry was made by inserting it between two other entries that had already been entered in the ODR on December 29, 2023. He had further stated that the request for this alternation may have been done after the CID took over the Weligama investigation.
This indicates that the filled and approved police form 439 and the covering letters by the Acting IGP, DIG and ASP were not in existence at the time the CCD team had left for Weligama on December 29, 2023.
Regarding the evidences given by the CCD team as to how they were ordered to fabricate evidence regarding the sequence of events, ASP Neville de Silva giving evidence under oath had tried to mislead the Committee, but this evidence was rejected by its members.
ASP Neville de Silva in his evidence has refused to accept the evidence given by the officers’ of the night mobile patrol, but took the stance that the initial evidence given by the CCD team to the Weligama police is true; they got injured from gunshot injuries fired by an unknown person.
ASP Neville de Silva’s role
During the cross-examination by the Additional Solicitor General how he (ASP Neville de Silva) can claim that the two police officers came under fire from an unknown person in front of the hotel, when an room upstairs in the W15 hotel has been damaged due to gunfire from the CCD team, ASP Neville de Silva has unsuccessfully attempted to convince the Committee that the CCD team could have mistakenly fired at an upstairs room in the course of aiming at an escaping suspect on the ground.
When the Committee questioned the ASP about his directive to alter the ODR, the witness has denied giving such instructions to SI Pulleperuma.
The Committee, for the foregoing reasons, has concluded that ASP Neville de Silva has deliberately uttered lies before the Committee and has decided to reject his evidence in its totality as falsehood.
Testifying DIG Nishantha de Zoysa, who was the Director Police Special Branch – the main intelligence arm of the Police Department that conducts covert operations to gather information about suspicious matters and keep the IGP informed, has told the Committee that he was not informed about the CCD Weligama assignment.
DIG De Zoysa has further stated that around 2.45am on December 31, 2023, he received a call from ASP Neville de Silva who had informed him what had happened at Weligama a few minutes earlier. When he contacted ASP Weligama, SSP Matara and DIG Matara, he (DIG De Zoysa) had got to know that the CCD team had gone to Weligama without informing the local police there. When verifying more details into the incident, DIG De Zoysa had understood what ASP Neville’s story on the shooting contradicts with what was described by the police authorities in Matara area.
Giving further evidence, DIG De Zoysa has said that there has been no evidence found to give any indication that an underworld figure has opened fire at the CCD officers. In his current capacity as the DIG in charge of Matara and Hambantota area, he has further stated that this illegal act has been carried out with the blessings of the Respondent IGP, DIG Jagath Kumara and ASP Neville de Silva. He has further stated that, now, as the DIG in charge of Matara and Hambantota divisions, not an iota of evidence has surfaced to date, to indicate that the firing at CCD team at Weligama was committed by an organised crime group. He has further said that the IGP’s approval to pay a reward amounting to Rs.1. 5 million to PS Upul, who died due to gunshot injuries, was illegal as he died during an illegal mission.
Deshabadu defended the CCD team
Tennakoon by letter dated February 22, 2024, has informed the National Police Commission that the CCD team had not committed any offence in the Weligama shooting incident.
Giving evidence under oath before this Committee, present IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya, who was the Acting IGP then, has said after observing the sequence of events that had taken place, Tennakoon has deliberately refrained from directing an investigation by any unit other than Weligama Police which is an indication that Tennekoon had wanted to conceal the actual facts as he was in some way involved in the shooting incident and to prevent it from being revealed.
Despite the evidence the Committee had obtained from all witnesses other than the two accused DIG Jagath Chandra Kumara and ASP Neville de Silva who have given false evidence, but all the other witnesses have verified the testimony of CI Anslem de Silva before the Inquiring Committee.
Deshabandu denies charges
Respondent Deshabandu Tennakoon has denied the charges levelled against him and attempted his best to convince the Committee that neither he nor his higher officials gave any order to the CCD team to involve in any illegal activity in Weligama and the CCD team has come under attack by an unidentified gunman in front of W15 hotel.
Tennakoon has repeatedly told the Committee that CI De Silva and his team were engaged in official duty on December 31, in front of W15 Hotel.
The Committee has also asked the witness why PS Upul was paid a reward of Rs.1.5 million, to which Tennakoon has stated that he was satisfied that the CCD team had acted within the course of their duties and the team had not engaged in an illegal activity. When asked what the reason was for him not to give any rewards the others in the CCD team, the officers of the Weligama night mobile patrol and police officers on duty at Imaduwa Highway Entrance, Tennakoon has stated that no senior officer down the line had recommended a payment of any such reward to those officers. At another point, Tennakoon has said that such payments could not have been made as there was no final conclusion as to the legality or illegality of the actions of the police officers involved in the incident. When confronted as to why then the reward was approved for the killed PC only, Tennakoon has failed to give any explanation acceptable to the Committee of Inquiry.
Meanwhile, the Committee of Inquiry report questions as to why the Respondent IGP is attempting to justify the actions of the CCD team members in front of W15 hotel, why he stated in his report to the National Police Commission that there was no lapse on the parts of the CCD officers, the attempts taken by Tennakoon to convince the Committee of Inquiry that the shooting incident in front of W15 hotel at Weligama had happened in the way the CCD team members had first told the Weligama police station. The Respondent IGP has failed to give an acceptable justification.
“This assumes a greater importance and concern because by this time CI De Silva and his team members had abandoned their original position. Then what is the necessity for the Respondent IGP to still attempt to establish that version? That is a version which its authors themselves have now jettisoned, a version they admit was fabricated. Should this Committee accept such a version as the correct version? The answer is clearly no” says the report concluding the cross-examinations.
Considering these facts, the Committee of Inquiry has not accepted Tennakoon’s evidence.