Tiran questioned over raid on Weligama hotel

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday (31) questioned former Public Security Minister Tiran Alles on a shooting incident near W 15 Hotel at Weligama on the night of 31 Dec., 2023, which led to the death of a police officer attached to the Colombo Crime Division (CCD).

Sources said that the CID questioned the former Minister as he was believed to have been aware of the circumstances leading to the deployment of the CCD team, on the specific instructions of IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon, to carry out a raid on the W 15 hotel.

Tennakoon has been remanded at the Angunakolapalessa Prison till April 3 by the Matara Magistrate in connection with the Weligama shooting incidents.

Police said that there had been two incidents. At first, the CCD team, from Colombo, had fired at the hotel, alleging that the hotel harboured drug dealers. While they were firing at the hotel, a joint police and Army patrol that had arrived at the scene opened fire on the policemen from Colombo, wounding two personnel. Of them, one succumbed to his injuries at the Karapitiya Hospital.

Investigations have revealed that the CCD team, that had been assigned to carry out the Weligama raid, received orders directly from the IGP.