By Asoka S. Seneviratne –

Prof. Asoka.S. Seneviratne

“History provides us with numerous examples of people who were convinced that they were doing the right thing and committed terrible crimes because of it”.

I published an article in the Colombo Telegraph (CT) on 26 July 2024 titled “IGP Controversy & President RW’s Failure To Break Up NPP” appointment of IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon (DT) was a controversial issue surrounding the Supreme Court’s (SC) interim order that prevented DT from functioning as the Acting Police chief in July 2024. In other words, the Supreme Court had directed that DT be restrained from acting as head of police until the court decides to consider all the petitions submitted against his appointment fully considered and determined.

However, then President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s (RW) government insisted that DT should continue to function as IGP irrespective of the Supreme Court ruling. Today, after 20 days of playing an elite game, DT is in a remand cell until 3^rd April  2025. Indeed, he was playing the game with law enforcement authorities or his colleagues.  He may have decided to surrender before his “distillery” of foreign liquor was confiscated. I consider that DT is the wrong man (i.e., among many, Mr. Siddharlepa) for the right job because now he needs maximum security for his survival, which is an unpreventable destiny.  His appointment in July 2024 was at the center of a controversy, a big blow to the democracy in the country in many ways.

Reasons behind controversy

As I explained in the article mentioned above, nine (9) months ago, among many other reasons, there were two (2) reasons for the controversy, which are worth mentioning to elucidate some points later. The Constitutional Council (CC) that approves the nomination for high offices like IGP has nine (9) members, and a minimum of five (5) members’ approval is required. However, for DT’s approval, the CC was divided as only four (4) members voted in favor, two (2) members opposed, and two abstained. At this stage, the Speaker, as the chairperson of the CC, made a stupid and controversial decision about the two abstentions. As the speaker wanted to support Ranil Wickremesinghe (RW), he used his prerogative of deciding to vote. Accordingly, it counted five (5) in favor of the approval. Indeed, the stupidity (the speaker’s stupidity was recently indicated by the fact that he consumed half of the output of the Sapaugaskanda oil refinery) laid the foundation for the controversy of DT’s appointment as acting IGP. Also, his stupidity was the foundation of the issues then surrounding DT and now of DT, and it was a blow to the democracy in the country that the speaker blindly committed to supporting RW. Indeed, the speaker is an impartial individual in the context of parliamentary democracy. But it was so unfortunate that he forgot his impartiality, quality, and status and became an ardent supporter or a slave of RW.

Another reason for the controversy surrounding the appointment was DT’s history. He had been found guilty by the Supreme Court (CC) a decade ago for a torture case where ”Siddharlape” was used. He was fined and was subjected to disciplinary action. He had complaints about human rights violations. We all witnessed how he supported the violence Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) instigated during the “Aragalaya” At the time of his appointment as the police chief, he had nine (9) petitions against him. This was why the Supreme Court had directed that DT be restrained from acting as head of police until the court decided to consider all nine (9) petitions submitted against his appointment fully and determined. It must be mentioned that among the nine petitions included was the petition for the Easter bombing in 2019, of which he did not exercise due care for the investigation.

However, then Prime Minister Dinesh Gunaewardena (DG) stated that the Supreme Court’s restraining order preventing IGP Deshabandu from functioning in his post was illegal. In other words, the Supreme Court’s interim order had no impact on the Constitutional Council’s decision, so Deshabandu Thennekoon was still the IGP in the country. The Prime Minister said that the Constitutional Council is an extension of the legislature and is not subject to Supreme Court jurisdiction. This is his utter ignorance of DG because he was a slave of RW. Still, the opponent said this was incorrect because despite having seven Parliamentarians, the Constitutional Council performs an executive function and is categorized under the Executive in the Constitution. The Constitutional Council is not subject to Supreme Court jurisdiction, which is incorrect. Opponent states that “Article 41 (J) of the Constitution makes the Constitutional Council subject to the Fundamental Rights jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, as confirmed by a seven-judge bench in 2002”.

At the same time, the Speaker said he did not violate the Constitution. The Speaker refuted claims that a wrong decision taken by the Speaker in the appointment of the IGP had led to the whole episode and said he decided to vote to appoint the IGP as per the Constitutional provisions. However, his interpretation was optional because what was stated in the Constitution is the matter. Furthermore, “the Speaker, announcing his stance on the injunction order on the IGP issued by the Supreme Court if an official appointed by the Constitutional Council and Parliament is removed from the position, a special procedure needed to be followed and that in his opinion the President is also not in a position to decide on the Supreme Court’s injunction order on the IGP. If not, we will have to go before the Supreme Court again to resolve the matter,” The Speaker said. The speaker seemed to be trying to escape from the unconstitutional thing he committed.

On the other hand, the response of Police Minister Tiran Alles, the cabinet, and the President indicated their unwillingness to comply with the SC order. This was to be another disaster in many ways. At the same time, IGP DT said that his priority was safeguarding national security and cracking down on drug dealing and organized crime. I want to stress the point that the Police Minister worked closely with RW for DT’s appointment as Acting IGP.

Destiny of Ranil-Deshabandu and AKD/NPP Government

I understand that President RW’s appointment of DT as acting IGP in July 2024 has been somewhat of a blessing for the AKD/NPP government and the country. If RW had not appointed DT as acting IGP, all illegal activities relating to nine (9) petitions against DT and disciplinary action proposed by SC would never have come to the fore. The above is why I referred to it as a blessing for the AKD/NPP government. DT was appointed Acting IGP in July 2024, and within nine (9) months, he was caught and is now in remand prison. RW, who appointed DT as IGP, was caught by Al Jazeera journalist Mehdi Hasan while RW was roaming to talk in English!

Among many, (i) DT’s alleged connection with the underground criminals (ii)  his illicit squad or his police buddies, (iii) the shooting incident near W15 hotel in Waligama due to a personal grudge, (iv) his distillery at home in Hokandara (v) 8 houses belonging to him, and (vi) many more of the ghost character of DT never be heard and investigated if he was not caught. His life is more than a crime drama; an investigation uncovered 18 properties linked to him under various other names, including one monk living with one of the properties. In short, all the above may be just the tip of the iceberg. Further investigation will reveal all from the date of his birth. As I heard from a TV broadcast, one person stated that DT received his probationer appointment as Assistant Superintend of Police in 1998. On the very first day, his revolver or pistol was misplaced. If the action had been taken at that point against DT, his job would have been terminated. But the said man helped to recover the missing pistol. That recovery helped DT to be confined to a remand cell now. See how destiny works. Next is the blindfolded lady with scales, known as Lady Justice, and that all cases should be judged based on evidence and the law, not by appearance or outside influences. When the investigation is completed about who protected DT during his disappearance, who gave hampers to please him for benefits, and how DT obtained favors and benefits from various people, including top politicians, it will reveal the DT’s (i) unethical engagements, (ii) wrong practices, and c(iii) criminal activities. In short, the best part of DT drama is ahead.

Among many, RW made two controversial appointments. Arjun Charlie Mahendran escaped the country 10 years ago (2016) and is still attending a wedding in Singapore. He will never see again the sunrise in Sri Lanka. RW appointed DT as the police chief, but DT is in remand prison until he goes to the blindfolded lady with scales, known as Lady Justice. From there, how many years he would spend behind bars is unknown.

For the AKD/NP government, DT’s remand prison is an unexpected victory. In short, the AKD/NPP government may need to thank RW. The point is that if RW had not appointed DT as acting IGP, DT would have escaped the country before AKD became President. If so, it would be impossible for the AKD government to now put DT in remand prison. If RW had not helped, DT would have escaped the country and joined his underworld friends, which was the reality.  The most crucial point is that DT is highly connected to top politicians in the country. DT was banned from leaving the county because the Police Minister knew well about the culprit DT. DT pledged to work against organized crime as his top priority. However, he organized an illicit unit or a few police buddies to commit crimes. It is well known to the whole world about shooting incidents with the illegal unit or police buddies near the W15 hotel in Waligama. The Matara Magistrate’s court issued an arrest order for eight (8) officers, including DT. CID was entrusted to track them down. DT vanished without any trace, like burnt camphor. I wonder whether it was police failed to find DT, or DT failed to find the police. It may be both. The court of appeal rejected DT’s last attempt to avoid arrest.  DT heard that the government was working to confiscate his assets, including the distillery; he appeared and was sitting on a chair of the Magistrate Court of Matata as the early bird. Indeed, DT needs top security for his survival because many politicians and others who supported him and underworld criminals know well that DT will vomit all about them. Given the above,  it would not be a surprise if DT wanted to become a witness for the government prosecution. The former top politician has not yet visited DT. He may give the excuse that his 60 security squad is insufficient to do so. Ranil and his Police Minister may not visit DT. In short, DT was like a lion or king in the past. But now there is no at least a fly around him, the destiny.   

The AKD/NPP government faces problems and issues in its attempt and commitment to improve people’s lives and make a stable and sustainably developed country.  As stated in previous articles, AKD is struggling with its limited resources. It is a massive balancing act. The DT saga consumed substantial time, resources, and energy of the AKD/NPP government, which has alternative uses. People could hardly understand the above, while MP Dayasiri Jayasekara in the opposition, tried to use the DT’s drama against the government. My understanding is that MP  Ramanathan Arjuna is far better than  MP Jayasekara.

Conclusion

In July 2024, I wrote an article for Colombo Telegraph about the controversy surrounding Deshabandu Thennekoon’s (DT) appointment as Acting IGP. It was based on an SC ruling restraining DT’s function as the police chief. After nine (9) months, I write again today about the court order arresting DT as IGP, who engaged in elite hide-and-seek drama. RW helped the AKD/NPP government by appointing DT as police chief. If not, DT would have escaped the country before AKD became president. The DT saga consumed substantial time, resources, and energy of the AKD/NPP government, which has alternative uses. People could hardly understand the above, while MP Dayasiri Jayasekara in the opposition, tried to use DT’s drama against the government. Simply, it seems that DT is the greatest king of criminals. Now, DT is in a remand prison and will vomit all, including his (i) massive hidden assets, (ii) unethical engagements, (iii) wrong practices, (iv) criminal activities, and most importantly, (v) about politicians and others who have been benefited from him. DT will face the blindfolded Lady Justice,  while RW is roaming in his own prison. It is his destiny.

*The writer, among many, worked as the Special Advisor to the Office of the President of Namibia (2006-2012) and was a Senior Consultant with UNDP for 20 years. He was a Senior Economist with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (1972-1993) . asoka.seneviratne@gmail.com