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Police say allegations against fuel station cops ‘exaggerated’

06 Jul 2022

  • ‘Kicking’ army officer relieved of duties till probe concluded
BY Buddhika Samaraweera Claiming that the allegations levelled against police officers on duty in connection with filling stations are sometimes exaggerated, the Police Department stated however that if any police officer has committed serious misconduct, such incidents would certainly be investigated. Speaking to The Morning yesterday (5), Police Media Spokesman, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and Attorney-at-Law (AAL) Nihal Thalduwa said: “Most of the time, police officers are accused of taking several motorcycles and vehicles to get fuel, but this is because all the officers working at a certain police station cannot wait in the fuel queues. For instance, officers engaged in crime investigation should leave for those duties. At such times, one officer would take the others’ vehicles to get fuel.”  He said that one officer has to take several vehicles to get fuel in that manner due to the nature of the duties assigned to police officers, adding that a situation has however arisen where such incidents are being exaggerated through social media platforms and accusations are being made against police officers. “There are also officers in the Police Department who are actually committing various misconducts. We do not say that there are no such officers. If we receive a complaint about such an officer, we will definitely investigate it. Even if there is no complaint, but there is acceptable information regarding the related incident, we will commence an investigation,” said Thalduwa. There have been several incidents of clashes between people in recent times as large crowds have gathered near filling stations due to the prevailing fuel shortage in the country. In that situation, the Government took steps to deploy Police and Army personnel near filling stations to control crowds. However, Police and Army officers are sometimes accused of obtaining fuel and providing their associates with fuel in informal ways. Meanwhile, a video recorded using a mobile phone, showing an army officer kicking a person on the chest at the Yakgahapitiya petrol station, had been widely circulated on social media recently, and prompted an internal investigation. Army Commander Lt. Gen. Vikum Liyanage has relieved the officer involved of all duties with immediate effect until a five-member Court of Inquiry’s recommendations are received in this regard.  A parallel military investigation of the Sri Lanka Army Corps of Military Police (SLACMP) with regard to the incident is also underway and recording statements, the Sri Lanka Army said yesterday.  The Security Force Headquarters – West on Monday (4) appointed the five-member Court of Inquiry, headed by a Brigade Commander, to investigate the issue related to the senior officer’s conduct and to make its recommendations.


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