Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam was summoned to appear before police investigators on Monday morning over remarks he made about the Inspector General of Police, in the first time the attorney-at-law has been called in personally since the inquiry opened last week.
Police Spokesperson ASP F.U. Wootler said Kariyawasam had been told to appear at 10 a.m., NewsFirst reported. Hiru News, which contacted Kariyawasam directly, reported that he said the notice he received set the time at 10.30 a.m. and that he would present himself accordingly.
”Wrong interpretations”
Speaking to Hiru News, Kariyawasam said his statement about the police chief had been given wrong interpretations. It is the first direct comment from him reported since the investigation began; the SLPP has previously said the remarks were taken out of context.
Which unit is handling the file
The two outlets named different police units. NewsFirst reported that Kariyawasam was summoned before the Colombo Crimes Division, while Hiru News reported that he was called to the Central Crime Investigation Bureau.
The bureau is the unit named in the court record. When police reported facts to the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court on August 6, the officer who appeared was the director of the Colombo Central Crimes Investigation Bureau, ASP Kamal Ariyawansa. Reporting on this case has been inconsistent on the point from the outset, with outlets variously naming the CCIB and the Criminal Investigation Department in the same reports.
How the case got here
Kariyawasam made the comments at a media briefing at SLPP headquarters on August 3, telling the incumbent police chief to serve the State and the public rather than the government. “We do not want him to go down in history as the 37th Inspector General of Police who died after being beaten on the roadside by members of the public,” he said.
The government ordered an investigation on August 4, with Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa saying the comments implied the country’s police chief could be killed in public. Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament the following day that the matter was being treated as extremely serious and pledged full protection for the IGP.
On August 6 the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court cleared the bureau to widen its inquiry and ordered the television channels that carried the statement to hand over unedited recordings. Investigators were directed to report back on progress on September 24.
Police have told the court the statement amounted to a threat to the IGP. No charges have been reported against Kariyawasam.
Update — August 10: Kariyawasam arrested
Kariyawasam was arrested by the Central Crime Investigation Bureau shortly before 11 a.m., within about an hour of presenting himself. Police said the arrest was made on allegations of threatening the IGP and of making statements liable to incite public disaffection towards the government and the President.
