• CC yet to receive any nominations: Speaker

With the Department of Police currently headless, a suitable name for the post of Inspector General of Police (IGP) has not yet been recommended to the Constitutional Council (CC), it is learnt.

Following the expiration of the fourth service extension granted to former IGP Chandana D. Wickramaratne on 24 November, the Police Department is operating without the presence of an IGP.

Police Media Spokesman, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and attorney-at-law Nihal Thalduwa yesterday (26) confirmed to The Daily Morning that the Police Department was operating without an IGP.

The Daily Morning inquired from Parliament Speaker and CC Chairman Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena if the CC had received any nomination for the post of IGP. In response, he said: “No, the CC has not received any nomination.”

Meanwhile, recent media reports have suggested that Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) Deshabandu Tennakoon would be appointed as the next IGP. Tennakoon faced a number of allegations including those of abuse of power, custodial deaths, and failure to prevent the organised assault of protestors by political rivals during the “Aragalaya” protest movement last year (2022).

Wickramaratne was scheduled to retire in March this year, and was granted a three-month service extension by President and Defence Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, which ended on 26 June. The Police Department functioned without the presence of an IGP for about two weeks, until he was again granted a second three-month service extension by the President on 9 July, which came to an end on 9 October. He was then granted a third service extension for another three weeks on 13 October, and a fourth service extension on 3 November, which ended on 24 November.

The Constitution states that no person shall be appointed by the President to any of the offices including that of IGP unless such appointment has been approved by the CC upon a recommendation made to it by the President.