News
Local police was afraid to act against ‘Harak Kata’, says Deshabandu
View(s):By Ranjith Padmasiri
The suspended Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon this week told the committee investigating allegations of misconduct and gross abuse of power of his office that the main reason why he opted not to deploy officers from Weligama and Matara to raid the hotel in Weligama was because they were afraid of alleged underworld figure Nadun Chinthaka Wickramaratne alias “Harak Kata”.
Mr. Tennakoon mentioned this while explaining his stance to the committee in Parliament on Wednesday (28).
He added that given this situation, he opted to hand over responsibility for the raid to the Director of the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) without informing the Matara Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) or the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Weligama Police.
In answer to the 22 charges in the charge sheet filed against him, Mr. Tennakoon informed the committee that Harak Kata’s narcotics trafficking network, which is centred in the Southern Province, had continued without disruption for more than a year even while he was in police custody. He alleged that Harak Kata had maintained contacts with those connected to this network while in custody and claimed some officers had provided him illegal benefits to facilitate this.
The committee had earlier dismissed three preliminary objections Mr. Tennakoon had raised against it. He has also vehemently denied all 23 charges against him.
When asked if details had been unearthed regarding Harak Kata’s narcotics network, Mr. Tennakoon said he had been given a document containing the names of 149 alleged associates of Harak Kata by the Director of the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID). He added that he passed on the information to the CCD’s Director and ordered him to investigate.
Nevertheless, only 11 out of the 149 suspects whose information had been collected were eventually arrested. Mr. Tennakoon had said he ordered a raid in the Weligama area following information that a group of other suspects were staying around Weligama and Matara, but claimed he had no knowledge on how the raid was being conducted.
Mr. Tennakoon also argued that the committee could not investigate matters that were currently before a court of law, and that he was the Acting IGP and not the IGP during the time period of the charges against him. As such, he insisted the committee could not conduct an investigation against him.
He also claimed that the Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) in charge of the Matara Division had not informed him that the officers sent from Colombo to conduct the raid had engaged in any illegal activity, adding that he too had not engaged in any misconduct.
Meanwhile, an agreement was reached at the committee hearing to allow Mr. Tennakoon or his lawyer Sanjaya Weerawickrama to cross examine witnesses called by the prosecution and to call evidence if necessary.
The committee, which was appointed under Section 5 of the Removal of Officers (Procedure) Act No. 5 of 2002, is chaired by Supreme Court Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and includes former Court of Appeal Judge Neil Iddawela and Chairman of the National Police Commission Lalith Ekanayake.
Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris and Deputy Solicitor General Rajitha Perera are assisting the committee.
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