Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Dr. Ajith Rohana, an attorney-at-law and the force’s best-known media spokesman of the past decade, has retired after 38 years in the Sri Lanka Police.
A ceremonial guard of honour was held at the Welagedara Stadium in Kurunegala on Tuesday to mark the end of his service. His official retirement date is September 11; the farewell was held early.
Career
Rohana holds a distinction in the history of the force as the youngest officer promoted to the rank of Deputy Inspector General. Born in Kosgama, Avissawella, he was educated at Ananda College, Colombo, where he was recognised as an accomplished speaker, and later took his LL.B. from the Open University of Sri Lanka before practising as an Advocate of the Supreme Court. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2020.
He became widely recognised across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic while serving as Police Media Spokesman, when his regular briefings on case numbers, curfew rules and quarantine enforcement made him one of the most visible officials of that period.
His postings included Police Media Spokesman, membership of the board of the National Child Protection Authority, and Senior Deputy Inspector General with responsibility for the Southern, North Western and Eastern Provinces.
Context
The retirement removes one of the senior-most officers from a force under sustained scrutiny. A parliamentary select committee questioned police officials last week over the response to Cyclone Ditwah, and the force is dealing with a run of underworld shootings — 34 so far this year, with 17 dead.
Daily Mirror does not name a successor to his provincial responsibilities, and does not say whether Rohana intends to return to legal practice. No other verified newsroom had filed on the retirement at the time of writing; Ada Derana was returning CloudFront 403 errors across its site.
