IGP of cons

A simple lie to win the heart of a girl turned into a continuing web of deceit as revealed after a man from Meegahatenna was arrested by police for having posed as a police officer for 26 years.

The 54-year-old security guard, T. Munasinghe, who pretended to be a police officer, was arrested by the Matugama police on August 4 after a background check was done on his 25-year-old son who had been accepted into the police force at Valaichchenai. His son who applied to join the police force had stated that his father was an officer of the Directorate of National Intelligence (DNI) formerly known as the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB). However, when the official police lists were inspected the 26-year-old lie was uncovered.

Delving deeper into the conman’s life, The Sunday Times learnt that it all began in 1978 when Munasinghe met his wife-to-be at the Matugama bus stand and told her he was an officer in the Tourist Police.

Two years later, they married but Munasinghe did not see it fit to tell the truth and continued to pose as a police officer after buying a police uniform from Anuradhapura.

He was also in possession of a baton and a toy pistol. Matugama Police Headquarters Inspector P. Abeysinghe said Munasinghe inherited a dowry of 1.5 acres of land through the marriage and had even fooled his own brother and sister about his job. He said that Munasinghe had not engaged in any corrupt practices while posing as a policeman but had used a forged police bus pass.

He is being charged for offences such as impersonating a police officer, illegal possession of a police uniform and damage to Government property. He is in remand until tomorrow