Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasuriya has urged officers to stay focused on their duties and not be distracted by social media, assuring them of the backing of the President, the subject Minister and the Ministry Secretary to work without interference, the Daily Mirror reported.
He paired the assurance with a warning. Officers involved in criminal activity would not be tolerated regardless of rank or position, he said, and strict action would be taken against those who assist criminal activity, engage in drug trafficking or maintain links with organised crime groups. Discipline was the foundation of an effective police service, and there was no place in the department for officers who compromise the law.
What he offered in return
The IGP acknowledged that the existing salary structure does not adequately reflect the demanding and risky nature of police work. A Cabinet sub-committee has reviewed the matter, he said, and the President has given assurances that salary reforms will be implemented next year.
He also set out three operational commitments:
- In-service training units at district and divisional level, to build professional knowledge
- Improvements to barracks, canteens and kitchens across all ranks, which he linked to officers’ mental well-being, noting facilities had improved considerably since the war period
- Decentralised budgets from next year, with Senior DIGs receiving allocations directly rather than all funding being managed through Police Headquarters
He reminded officers that their salaries and facilities are paid for by public taxes, and urged daily self-reflection on the standard of service provided.
The backdrop he did not name
The address lands in the middle of a dispute over senior transfers. Opposition MP Ajith P. Perera said on Sunday that the police “appeared to be in disarray,” the Daily Mirror reported.
He pointed to the cancellation of the transfers of Senior DIG Ranmal Kodituwakku and Police Narcotics Bureau DIG Ashoka Dharmasena as evidence of a lack of coordination.
“Senior DIG Kodituwakku should have been presented with an award after he managed to seize a container carrying narcotics worth Rs. 10 billion. One wonders who decided on his transfer. The police appear to be in disarray when transfers are first ordered and subsequently cancelled. Such a situation does not augur well for the country,” Perera said.
The sequence he describes is on the record. The transfers were ordered by the IGP, and the National Police Commission cancelled them with immediate effect on 1 October — at the IGP’s own request, in connection with the Colombo Port narcotics case. The order and its reversal therefore originated with the same office, which is the substance of the criticism rather than a contradiction of it.
Perera also said the government appeared divided on several issues, citing Minister Bimal Rathnayake’s remark about divisions over the 22nd Amendment. Asked why some opposition parties had stayed away from a recent protest against the amendment, he said all opposition parties opposed it, although not all had taken part.
Not reported
Neither report says where or to what audience the IGP was speaking, whether he was responding to the transfer controversy or to any specific social media claim, or what salary figures the Cabinet sub-committee considered. No response from the IGP or the Police Commission to Perera’s criticism has been reported. Outlets differ on the spelling of the IGP’s surname, which appears as both Weerasuriya and Weerasooriya; this article follows the Daily Mirror’s rendering.
Sources: Daily Mirror, Daily Mirror.
