By Norman Palihawadane

A total of 139 Officers-in-Charge (OICs) of police stations across the country have been transferred as part of a major reshuffle, following approval by the National Police Commission.

The announcement, which came late Monday evening, marks the largest such transfer in the history of Sri Lanka’s police force.

According to sources at the Police Headquarters, some of the OICs will lose their current positions when they are reassigned to different roles. The reshuffle involves 105 Chief Inspectors of Police (CIs) and 34 Inspectors of Police (IPs), with the transfers scheduled to take place in two phases: 13 February and 18 February.

A significant portion of the transfers will affect OICs of police stations in Colombo and its suburbs, with many being reassigned to general duties to meet service requirements.

The reshuffling decision was approved by the Secretary of the National Police Commission and authorized by Acting Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasuriya. The adjustments are part of what is labelled as routine service modifications designed to improve operational efficiency within the police force.

Police Headquarters sources confirmed that the officers involved have been informed of their new postings.

Meanwhile Police stated that the recent decision to transfer Officers-in-Charge (OICs) was not politically motivated.

Police Media Spokesperson SSP Buddhika Manatunga explained that the transfers were necessary as many Police OICs had not been reassigned for a considerable period.

He noted that some officers were transferred due to underperformance.

“This has been an ongoing process. There had been no transfers for nearly three years. There is no political influence in this. Some officers have been reassigned to general duties, while others have received favourable postings. No one can claim politics played a role. We will evaluate the performance of these transferred officers for a year. OICs cannot remain idle—they must fulfil their responsibilities. The National Police Commission has inquired about these transfers multiple times, and they have been carried out with their approval,” SSP Manathunga said.