News
Public Security Minister vows to keep out political interference in police work
Public Security Minister Rear Admiral (retd.) Sarath Weerasekera yesterday vowed that he would not let the police service to be politicised on his watch.
Addressing 105 newly appointed officers in charge of police stations, during a programme held at the Ministry in Battaramulla, the Minister said: “Policemen must not do political work. They should not do anything illegal just because they are ordered to do so by politicians. You have to work for the benefit of the people.”
Minister Weerasekera told the OICs not to take orders from politicians. “An OIC must keep in his mind the needs and welfare of the people of his division. That should be the first priority when you discharge your duties. Do not be afraid of repercussions if you work properly to the letter and for the benefit of the people in good faith. If something goes wrong I myself, my Secretary Maj. Gen. Jagath Alwis and the IGP Chandana Wickremaratne will stand by you. We’ll protect you if you do the right thing.”
Minister Weerasekera said the police department was very different from other public sector institutions. “It is a department that lost the lives of around 3,500 policemen fighting against the LTTE; about 15,000 of its personnel got infected by the COVID-19 while on duty. Of them around 55 died. Around 230 policemen died on the roads while performing traffic duties. This is a department in which personnel discharge their duties putting their lives in danger while fighting against underworld members, organised criminals and robbers. So the police department should not be equated to other departments in the public service,” the Minister said.
Accepting deposits from political parties and independent groups who intend to contest the forthcoming Local Authorities Election ended at 12noon today [19].
Deposits were accepted at respective District Secretariats from 3rd March 2025.
The Elections Commission has announced that the deadline for the accepting of nominations for the LA poll is set to conclude at 12:00 noon tomorrow (20).
It has been reported that the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon has appeared before the Matara Magistrate’s Court this morning (19),
The former IGP had been evading arrest after the Matara Magistrate’s court had ordered his arrest regarding a shooting incident that took place in front of the W15 Hotel Pelena, Weligama, Matara, in 2023.
The government has begun recovering funds obtained by former Lands and Land Development, Environment and Wildlife Resources Minister SM Chandrasena for the Janatha Lanka Chilli Marketing Limited (JLCML), which he headed, Parliament was informed yesterday.
Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation Minister Namal Karunaratne said that as the Chairman of JLCML, Chandrasena had obtained a loan of Rs. 1,275,000 from the Mihintale Govijana Seva Bank in 2001.
The principal of the loan had not been repaid until the end of last year. “After we came to power, we demanded that the loan be settled. Then, we discovered that the interest on the loan had not been paid for the past 24 years, and attempts had been made to have the loan written off. We stopped that and are now in the process of recovering the interest of Rs. 1,975,233 on the loan,” Karunaratne said.
Karunaratne added that JLCML was registered as a company with the Registrar of Companies on March 21, 2001. As Chairman of the company, Chandrasena requested a loan of Rs. 10 million on April 19, 2001, for the purpose of purchasing chillies from farmers in 12 farmer colonies in the Mihintale Agrarian Service area.
The request was approved by the Mihintale Agrarian Service Committee on the same day and referred to the Anuradhapura District Agrarian Operations Committee, which approved it on April 23, 2001. However, the Agriculture Development Commissioner General recommended that a loan of Rs. 1.2 million would suffice for this purpose. JLCML took the loan and failed to repay it until the end of last year. When the matter was raised, the principal was paid, and we are now in the process of recovering the interest that was not paid for the past 24 years,” Karunaratne added.
By Saman Indrajith
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