News

STF Chief: Crime rate higher in SP and WP

Published

3 years ago

2023/09/9

DIG Waruna Jayasundara

The incidence of crime was higher the Western and Southern provinces and over 100 had been reported from those areas by the end of last year, the Commandant of the Police Special Task Force (STF), DIG Waruna Jayasundara said in a television discusson on Wednesday.

Jayasundara said that most of the STF personnel were stationed in those two provinces.

Seventeen organised active criminal gangs operated in the two provinces with the WP accounting for 12 of them, the STF Chief said.

Police had identified the leaders of those gangs, Jayasundara said, adding that the soaring cost of living, the setbacks the rule of law had suffered were the main reasons for the increase in the incidence of crime.

“There are 17 main gangs in the Western and Southern provinces and their leaders are operating from overseas. We are working with the CID and Interpol to have them extradited. It is not going to be an easy task. I have deployed a lot of STF personnel in the two provinces. Since then there have been only three shootings in the Southern Province.

There have been 31 shootings by organised criminal gangs during the past three months. STF has arrested 85 people in addition to arrests made by the regular police. A number of criminals have died in shootouts. Most of the victims are gang members fighting turf wars.

Jayasundara added that the leaders of those gangs were in Dubai, and most of their members in Sri Lanka were foot soldiers.

“These groups can hire someone to kill a person for 100,000 or 150,000 rupees. There are many Army deserters among them. Right now, the conviction rate is very low. If justice served expeditiously, it will serves as a deterrent.”

“We are now also into digital forensics analysis and computer crime. A number of officers have been sent overseas for training,” he said.

The STF Commandant said that CCTV cameras helped police solve a lot of crime. However, for CCTV footage to be optimal, the camera has to be within nine feet from the target, he added.

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Related Topics:Police Special Task Force Waruna Jayasundara

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Animal Welfare Draft Bill to be Gazetted

Published

20 hours ago

2026/06/24

Priyan

A specialists committee has been appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation adhering to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 29.12.2025 for submitting appropriate recommendations analyzing the provisions of the draft bill formulation in regard to Animal Welfare.

Based on the recommendations of the said Committee, the Legal Draftsman has been instructed at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on 18.05.2026 to prepare the final bill on the animal welfare.

Wherefore, the Legal Draftsman has formulated the draft bill and the clearance of the Attorney General has been received in the connection.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to publish the said draft bill in the
Government Gazette Notification and subsequently forward the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.

News

Legal provisions on marking voters using indelible ink during elections removed

Published

20 hours ago

2026/06/24

Priyan

Under the legal provisions for elections in this country since 2004, it is mandatory for voters who come to mark their votes to verify their identity through a valid identity card, and it is also mandatory for all such voters to be marked with an appropriate mark using indelible ink. The dual purpose of these two functions is to prevent a voter from voting more than once in a single election.

It has been observed that having to follow two different
methods at the same time to achieve the same objective hinders the efficiency of the duties performed at the polling stations and also incurs additional costs to the government.

Therefore, it has been deemed appropriate to remove the legal provisions regarding the use of indelible ink and marking the voter with the appropriate mark from all election acts.

Accordingly, the development activities of the province, as well as national security, will benefit. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the
President to take necessary steps to remove the legal provisions

• Section 36 of the presidential Election Act, No 15 of 1981
• Section 38 of the Parliamentary Election Act, No 01 of 1981
• Section 36 of the Provincial Council Election Act, No 02 of 1988
• Section 53 A of the Local Government Elections Ordinance (262 Authority)
• Section 21 of the Referendum Act No 7 of 1981

News

Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts

Published

20 hours ago

2026/06/24

Priyan

WEATHER FORECAST FOR 24 JUNE 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 24 June 2026 by the Department of Meteorology

Several spells of showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts. Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in the Uva province and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts after 2.00 p.m.

Fairly strong winds about (30-40) kmph can be expectedat times over the Western slopes of the central hills, the Northern, North-central, North-western and Southern provinces and in Trincomalee district.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.