Fugitive IGP
Sri Lankan police issued a public appeal on Thursday to find their fugitive chief, who went missing after a court order to arrest him following the death of an officer.
Spokesperson Buddhika Manatunga said that Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshbandhu Tennakoon was deployed to various special units but could not be found. “We urge the public to provide any information regarding his whereabouts,” Manatunga said, speaking to reporters in Colombo.
He further said, “We also warn that action will be taken against anyone who patronizes the IGP or obstructs justice.” Manatunga has admitted that the failure to locate his own chief has undermined public confidence in the police. The government has banned him from traveling abroad to prevent him from fleeing the island.
“This is a serious matter and we are working with extra vigor to arrest him,” Manatungal said. He said, “As a person knowledgeable in the law, the IGP should have surrendered by obeying the court order.” A magistrate last week ordered Tennakun’s arrest after he was accused of illegally raiding a hotel in 2023.
Tennakoon has ordered a unit to search for illegal drugs at a hotel in the southern coastal resort town of Weligama, about 150 kilometers from the capital Colombo. Local police, unaware of the undercover operation, encountered the unit, resulting in a shootout that left one officer dead and another seriously injured, but no drugs were recovered.
Tennakoon was controversially appointed police chief in November 2023, and his appointment was challenged by the Supreme Court, which suspended him last July. Tennakun was given the highest police post despite the country’s Supreme Court ruling in a separate case alleging that a suspect in custody was tortured by applying menthol balm to his genitals.
The court ordered Tennakoon to pay five lakh rupees (US$1,600) in compensation to the victim, but the government at the time ignored the court order to take disciplinary action against him.
