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Policeman sacked for playing piano while president fled
AFP:Sri Lanka’s police force said Friday it had sacked an officer who entertained protesters with an impromptu piano performance after they stormed the island nation’s presidential compound last year.
Constable R. M. D. Dayaratne was deployed to help protect the colonial-era residence on the day it was taken over by protesters who forced then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country.
Instead, he sat at a grand piano in the compound and played a song to the crowd streaming through its rooms.
“Dayaratne was on social media playing the piano while the building was being vandalised,” a senior officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
“He was our Nero,” the officer added, referring to the ancient Roman emperor said to have played the fiddle while the city burned in a weeklong fire.
Police authorities concluded after a lengthy investigation that the constable had breached discipline.
Before the compound was stormed in July 2022, protesters had been camped outside Rajapaksa’s office for months demanding he step down over the island nation’s unprecedented economic crisis.
Protesters seized the residence and were later seen frolicking in the presidential pool and jumping on Rajapaksa’s four-poster bed.Rajapaksa was accused of precipitating corruption and mismanagement that triggered the downturn, which led to severe shortages of food, fuel and medicines.
He was forced to seek temporary exile in Singapore, from where he issued his resignation, though he has since returned to Sri Lanka.His successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has offered an amnesty to those returning historic artefacts stolen from the building.
A combined search operation carried out by the Northern Naval Command with the assistance of Marudankerni Police on Monday (27) in Waththiyaran Jaffna, led to the recovery of over 34kg of Kerala cannabis buried in a garden and the arrest of one person suspected to be involved in the incident.
The gross street value of this stock of Kerala cannabis is believed to be over Rs. 13 million.
State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe yesterday (28) said that investigations were still continuing into the alleged disappearance of Rs. 5 million from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).
The State Minister stated that the CBSL initiated an internal investigation into the matter, while the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), too, initiated a separate probe.
In April this year the Fort Police was ordered to investigate the theft of Rs. 5 million from a safe at the Central Bank, to arrest the suspects involved, and produce them in court.
This order was issued by Colombo Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunawala on April 17, 2023.
The State Minister made these remarks in response to a question raised by MP Niroshan Perera in the House.
He assured that upon completion of the relevant investigations, a full report on the matter will disclose all findings, along with those responsible for it.
Semasinghe also revealed that a discussion had taken place between the CBSL and the Inspector General of Police on investigations. (SI)
The Department of Immigration and Emigration announced on Tuesday (28) that the visa fee has been waived for residents of China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan visiting Sri Lanka, with immediate effect.
In a statement, the Department said that this scheme is valid until March 31, 2024, and that this is a pilot programme to rebuild the tourism industry.
Residents of the above-nominated countries possessing diplomatic, official, public affairs, service, and ordinary passports are eligible for this scheme.
Visitors from these countries first need to apply for a free Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) before arriving in Sri Lanka, the Department said.
Under this scheme, tourists can enjoy a 30-day visa, and a double entry facility too is permitted from the date of first arrival to Sri Lanka within 30 days, the statement said.
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