Sri Lanka Seeks Police Chief Over Fatal Raid

COLOMBO, 2nd March 2025 – Sri Lankan police have launched a manhunt for their Inspector-General after a court issued an arrest warrant following the death of an officer during a failed raid.

Inspector-General Deshabandu Tennakoon, who has been missing since Friday, is accused of ordering the raid on 31st December 2023, which led to the fatal shooting of one officer. A senior police official revealed that when authorities attempted to execute the arrest warrant at Tennakoon’s residence, he had gone into hiding, leaving behind his security detail.

The court has also imposed a foreign travel ban on Tennakoon, aged 53, to prevent him from fleeing the country.

The raid in question was an operation to search a hotel in Weligama, a coastal resort town located approximately 150 kilometres (95 miles) south of Colombo, for illegal drugs. However, local police were unaware that an undercover team from Colombo had been sent to carry out the operation, resulting in a gunfight when the two forces clashed. Tragically, one officer was killed, and another critically injured. No drugs were found during the search.

Tennakoon’s appointment as police chief in November 2023 had been controversial. His appointment was challenged in Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court, which suspended him in July 2024, pending the outcome of a hearing. This followed an earlier case where the court found Tennakoon guilty of torturing a suspect in custody by applying menthol balm to the suspect’s genitals. Despite the ruling, which ordered him to pay compensation of half a million rupees (approximately $1,600) to the victim, the government at the time chose not to take any disciplinary action against him.

Context:

The manhunt for Tennakoon comes amid growing concerns about police accountability and the conduct of law enforcement in Sri Lanka. The raid incident has drawn significant attention to issues of transparency and trust in the police force, particularly following past controversies surrounding Tennakoon’s appointment. As the search for the police chief continues, questions remain about the government’s commitment to addressing serious allegations within its police force and upholding judicial orders.