COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s fugitive police chief surrendered to authorities and was remanded in custody on Wednesday (May 19), weeks after his arrest was ordered over a botched raid that killed a fellow officer.
A magistrate in the southern town of Matara ordered Inspector-General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon to be held in custody until Thursday, when his bail application will be considered.
Tennakoon stands accused of authorising an ill-fated drug bust in 2023, allegedly against internal regulations, that sparked a gun battle between competing police units.
He surrendered after police raided his private home on Tuesday, and seized over 1,000 bottles of liquor, his service revolver, and two phones.
The Court of Appeal had on Monday rejected Tennakoon’s petition to quash an arrest warrant issued against him over an officer’s death during the drug raid in the southern coastal resort town of Weligama.
Another officer was critically wounded in the incident, and no drugs were found.
The Court of Appeal said on Monday that the failure to locate the police chief for nearly three weeks had undermined public confidence in both the police and the criminal justice system.
“How did he manage to evade arrest and stealthily enter this court house?” prosecutor Dileepa Peeris asked during Wednesday’s proceedings.
