A police constable attached to the payments division at Mount Lavinia Police Headquarters has been arrested over the alleged misappropriation of Rs. 3,540,415 from the police reward fund, Newswire reported Wednesday.
Police said the suspect is accused of fraudulently obtaining the cash while handling financial duties. The constable has been charged under the Public Property Act. Investigations are being carried out by the Central Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) on the personal instructions of Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasooriya.
The reward fund typically rewards officers for successful operations and informant payouts and is administered through divisional payments offices. The Public Property Act carries enhanced penalties when state assets are involved and is the standard charging instrument in cases where public servants are accused of converting state funds to personal use.
The case sits alongside other recent actions against serving officers. On Tuesday a Peliyagoda police constable was remanded after CIABOC’s sting operation over a Rs. 200,000 bribe to release a drug suspect, and earlier today a Sri Lanka Transport Board conductor was arrested at the Teldeniya depot with crystal methamphetamine. The IGP’s direct instruction signals the Mount Lavinia case is being treated as a serious internal accountability matter.
Source: Newswire.
