5th Column

My dear Deshabindu,

It has been a while since I wrote to you last. I’m not even sure whether you got that letter because you were on the run at that time, a fugitive being hunted by the force that you once commanded. Now, matters have come to a conclusion: Anura sahodaraya stripped you from your top post last week.

If you are having unkind thoughts about the ‘maalimaawa’ chaps for your fate, you should be thankful to them too. In a week where your misdeeds would have otherwise dominated the news, they have done you a big favour: Harini’s terrible debacle on Chi Chi’s rocket has wiped you off the headlines!

You were removed after the committee probing your conduct in the Weligama hotel shooting found you guilty on most counts you were charged with. So, you were no longer suitable to be our top cop. The honourable people near the Diyawanna approved that decision. Not even one voted against that.

If you are thinking about what might have been, you would have easily been the top cop for another half a dozen years. You were so young when you got that job. In the end, the same craftiness that got you there made you so confident, you thought you could get away with anything. That was your undoing.

Just over three years ago, you were the lapdog of the ‘R’ clan, doing their bidding and turning a blind eye at what they wanted concealed. You believed that was the way to the top and sure it was, until Gota maama was chased away. That didn’t deter you because you quickly latched on to Uncle Ranil.

I feel Uncle Ranil had some inkling that you were not the best fit for top cop. That is why he kept replaying the same CD over and again instead of appointing you. Even when someone close to him finally convinced him to appoint you, it was in an ‘acting’ role, so you were kept on a tight leash.

Then you took ‘acting’ to a different level, staging the ‘yukthiya’ drama. That maybe what convinced Uncle Ranil. You finally got rid of the ‘acting’ tag. That too was not without a drama of its own with the Council that appoints you being divided. That decision itself is under the scrutiny of courts now.

Despite that, skeletons kept coming out of your cupboard. You were charged with several offences during the ‘aragalaya’ including allowing the attacks on ‘Gota Go Gama’. Your conduct during the Easter attacks was questionable. Finally, there was the Siddhalepa saga where you were found guilty.

You are likely not only to lose your cop job, more troubles could be in store. There are many outstanding matters where you could be hauled before court again. So, now we have a situation where the top cop and his senior second-in-command, Nilantha, could possibly face prosecution soon.

When the final steps of ousting you from office came before the peoples’ representatives, you got a chance to see who your true friends are. Most of your allies have been kicked out of that place. Very few remain. Young Namal was among them and he didn’t disappoint, even though it cost him dearly.

First, Namal tried to stall the debate citing an issue about Standing Orders. When that didn’t work, he tried mocking the charges against you saying ‘Who saw Siddhalepa being applied? Who held the torch for that?’, totally ignoring the fact that the highest court in the land found your guilty of that.

In his short speech, Namal showed his ignorance of legal matters to the extent that made one wonder whether the rumours about his Law College exams are true. Then, he went on to display his crass insensitivity to a torture victim’s plight by mocking the victim and making jokes about the incident.

If Namal thought he was making gains in the popularity stakes recently, seeing this performance on your behalf, one couldn’t help but feel that Sajith was still streets ahead of him. Deshabindu, as far as you are concerned, young Namal is a friend indeed but you should never hire him as your lawyer!

These days, you can take solace from the fact that you have earned your place in our history. You are the only top cop to go into hiding and be hunted by your own force. You are also the only top cop to be removed by Parliament. That is because, though you were an officer, you were never a gentleman.

Tougher times are ahead for you. You need the help of lawyers cleverer than Namal if you are to see light at the end of the tunnel. You can count yourself lucky if you do not end up wearing the ‘jumper’. Your fall from grace, from Deshabandu to Deshabindu, we hope, is a lesson to those who follow you.

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS- Time is on your side. You have a half a dozen years until retirement. if the ‘pohottuwa’ returns to power before that, judging by Namal’s performance, you could return as Police Chief, even for a day, as it was done with Shirani as CJ. Even if you are behind bars then, they can pardon you, can’t they?