COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s fugitive police chief surrendered to authorities and was remanded in custody Wednesday, weeks after his arrest was ordered over a botched raid that killed a fellow officer.
A magistrate in the southern town of Matara ordered Inspector-General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon to be held in custody until Thursday, when his bail application will be considered.
Tennakoon stands accused of authorising an ill-fated drug bust in 2023, allegedly against internal regulations, that sparked a gun battle between competing police units.
He surrendered after police raided his private home on Tuesday, and seized over 1,000 bottles of liquor, his service revolver, and two phones.
The Court of Appeal had on Monday rejected Tennakoon’s petition to quash an arrest warrant issued against him over an officer’s death during the drug raid in the southern coastal resort town of Weligama.
Another officer was critically wounded in the incident, and no drugs were found.
The Court of Appeal said Monday that the failure to locate the police chief for nearly three weeks had undermined public confidence in both the police and the criminal justice system.
“How did he manage to evade arrest and stealthily enter this court house?” prosecutor Dileepa Peeris asked during Wednesday’s proceedings.
The state prosecutor told the court that evidence had emerged of Tennakoon operating a paramilitary hit squad to carry out illegal activities.
A lawyer representing Tennakoon, Anuththara Samararaja, said they secured an order from the magistrate to ensure security for her client in the remand prison.
“We expect a decision tomorrow, let’s see,“ she told reporters outside the court.
Tennakoon was appointed police chief in November 2023, but the move was challenged in the Supreme Court, which suspended him last July pending the outcome of a separate case.
Tennakoon was given the top job despite Sri Lanka’s highest court ruling that he had tortured a suspect in custody by rubbing menthol balm on his genitals.
The Supreme Court told Tennakoon to pay half a million rupees ($1,600) to the victim in compensation, but the government at the time ignored judicial orders to take disciplinary action against him.
