• Petition filed earlier by 33 male SSPs against her promotion

• Her lawyers claim removal impacts ongoing legal proceedings

  The first woman Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of Sri Lanka Police Bimshani Jasin Arachchi has been removed from her duties as the DIG in charge of the Police Ombudsman Range, The Morning learnt. This was confirmed to The Morning by both Jasin Arachchi’s legal representation, and high-ranking Police sources. According to her lawyers, she was removed from her duties with effect from 1 May. Speaking to The Morning, one of Jasin Arachchi‘s legal representatives, Attorney-at-Law (AAL) Dushantha Kularathne, said that her staff at the Police Ombudsman Range had also been asked to report to another DIG. On the advice of Jasin Arachchi’s legalr representatives AALs Chrishmal Warnasuriya and Kularathne, a letter was sent by instructing Attorney-at-Law Indunil Wijesinghe to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) C.D. Wickramaratne, requesting that Jasin Arachchi be assigned duties suitable for her DIG position or that she be reassigned as the DIG of the Police Ombudsman Range. She was appointed by the letter dated 12 October 2020 to act in the capacity of the DIG and the duties of the Police Welfare Range were delegated to her. Thereafter, on 13 December 2020, duties of the Police Ombudsman Range were transferred to her. “Following the filing of the Supreme Court (SC) Fundamental Rights Application Number 354/2020 challenging her appointment as a DIG, the IGP has taken further action to remove her from said duties and not delegated any other fit and proper duty. This is a vicarious and collateral attack on her appointment and unlawful support to the petitioners. This is also an attempt to improperly influence matters pending before the SC,” according to Kularathne. A petition was filed by 33 Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) seeking an order staying the National Police Commission’s (NPC) decision to appoint Jasin Arachchi as a DIG. Police Legal Division Director SSP Ruwan Gunasekara and 32 other SSPs have filed this petition challenging the NPC’s decision to appoint the then SSP Jasin Arachchi to a DIG post. The petitioners maintain that the decision to appoint Jasin Arachchi to the post of DIG is illegal and unlawful. They allege that the appointment has disregarded the prevailing laws, thereby causing serious and irreversible damage to the petitioners’ careers in the Police department. The petitioners further claim that the decision to appoint her to act in the capacity and rank of a Woman DIG of the Police is a violation of the approved scheme of recruitment and promotion of the Police. The Police appointed SSP Jasin Arachchi as its first woman DIG in 2020.