Constitutional Council approves Deshabandu as Acting IGP

Saturday, 2 December 2023 01:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Constitutional Council yesterday approved the name of Deshabandu Tennekoon as the Acting Inspector General of Police as informed by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.

Accordingly, Tennekoon will serve as the Acting IGP for three months commencing on 29 November.

Tennekoon was appointed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday after months of failing to appoint an IGP in March this year which was when the former IGP C.D. Wickramaratne was due to retire. Wickramaratne was forced to remain in service until last week, due to the inability of relevant parties to find a suitable candidate for the post..

Tennekoon beat other top contenders for the post which included Senior DIG Administration Nilantha Jayawardena and Senior DIG Central Province Lalith Pathinayake. However, his appointment has come under heavy criticism by the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and other quarters due to the allegations against him including the dereliction of duty in failing to prevent the Easter Sunday attack despite having the necessary information.

He has also been accused of acting as a security consultant for Sri Lanka Cricket in violation of the Establishments Code and failing to prevent the attack on the Galle Face Green protests on 9 May 2022. The top cop however has denied all allegations against him. He was also assaulted by a group of protestors near the Beira Lake in Colombo on 10 May last year.

Meanwhile it is also reported new provisions will be introduced shortly to limit the tenure of an IGP to three years.

Tennekoon is an old boy of Nalanda College, Colombo. He joined the Sri Lanka Police as an Assistant Superintendent of Police in 1998 before rising through the ranks. He served as Senior DIG Western Province before he was appointed Acting IGP. He is set to retire in July 2034.