The man who protected the world's first elected woman premier, the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike, retires from the police next month after nearly four decades of service, but says he won’t talk about the secrets of the VIPs he once guarded with his life.
Police Deputy Inspector-General Jayantha Jayasinghe bids farewell to his colleagues, men and women of the police department, on April 8, earning rare honours in serving the country both in uniform and civvies since 1971 straight after leaving Royal College, Colombo DIG Jayasinghe, who is affectionately known to friends as "Junggie", served Ms. Bandaranaike's security unit for over eight years till her death in October 2000.
"Of my eight years with her, I had the privilege of serving as her Personal Security Officer for seven years," DIG Jayasinghe said. "I was by her side when she died a few hours after voting at the October 2000 elections."
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| DIG Jayasinghe:. Pic by Lakruwan Wanniarachchi |
Junggie was also a college friend of Anura, son of Ms. Bandaranaike. He had a ring-side view of palace intrigue and momentous political manoeuvring that shaped the future of Sri Lanka during a difficult period.Asked about reports of family feuding and sibling rivalry that he may have been privy to, the DIG declined to discuss the lives of his charges.
"Yes, there are many things I know and probably only I knew at the time," DIG Jayasinghe said when asked about his close association with the Bandaranaikes in his professional capacity as the head of Ms. Bandaranaike’s security unit.
"I will not discuss her, or the family and there are some things I will have to take to my grave," he said. "That is my professional training. I hope the younger security officers will be able to maintain such standards."
He noted that there were exceptionally good young officers in the service who could build on the success of their seniors and ensure true professionalism at all levels in the expanding police service.
He has undergone VIP protective security training in India as well as in Sri Lanka apart from training in combat operations and post-explosion investigations in the US.
Following his elevation to the rank of DIG in 2007, he took over duties in the Eastern Range with Batticaloa as his base and was responsible for seeing the establishment of police stations in areas that were previously held by the LTTE.
A smooth transition to normal police duties in the newly-liberated areas in the Eastern Range was spearheaded by DIG Jayasinghe who implemented the government policy of ensuring policing in areas where there had been no law and order for over a decade
"I had the rare privilege of setting up police stations in areas where people had not seen the colour of a Sri Lankan policeman for decades," he said. "I was able to win the hearts and the minds of the people because I spoke their language."
A fluent speaker of Tamil, DIG Jayasinghe built bridges to the local communities and ensured that the local population fully cooperated with the authorities in the massive reconstruction and rehabilitation work that is currently underway in the region. Having been trained as an intelligence officer, DIG Jayasinghe had also honed his skills in information gathering while at the National Intelligence Bureau and the Criminal Investigations Department.
He said he was particularly pleased he was able to erase the memories of the infamous 1999 Wayamba Provincial Council election and ensure that the voting for the same council 10 years later in February this year was conducted as one on the most peaceful elections.
"It is good that people will remember the 2009 Wayamba election as one of the most peaceful," DIG Jayasinghe said. "I hope to spend my retirement in Kurunegala and it is a good thing that the neighbours know that I ensured that the name of the province was not sullied again."
He said he was looking forward to spending more time with his three daughters and wife Wasantha. |
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