-By Our Resident Crime Comedy Correspondent
(Lanka-e-News -17.March.2025, 9.15 PM) In a turn of events that could easily be mistaken for the plot of a budget police comedy, Sri Lanka’s suspended Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon is now the country’s most wanted man—not for upholding the law, but for apparently dodging it like a seasoned escape artist.
The Matara Magistrate’s Court had, in its infinite wisdom, ordered Tennakoon’s arrest following a spectacularly botched police raid at the W15 Hotel in Weligama. What was supposed to be a routine drug bust ended in an old-fashioned Wild West-style shootout, leaving one police officer dead, another critically wounded, and everyone else thoroughly confused.
Sources say Tennakoon had allegedly ordered a secret team from Colombo to conduct an undercover raid on the hotel, supposedly in pursuit of a major drug cartel. The only problem? He forgot to tell the local Weligama police. When the unwitting local officers saw armed men in the hotel, they did what any self-respecting law enforcement would do—they opened fire. The Colombo team, in turn, thinking they had walked into an ambush, returned fire.
The end result? A chaotic shootout, a destroyed minibar, and absolutely no drugs.
Following extensive CID investigations, a court issued warrants for Tennakoon and eight other officers involved, including former Colombo Crimes Division Officer-in-Charge Anselm de Silva. But just when you thought justice was about to be served piping hot, the Attorney General decided to cool things down by issuing an order stating that six of the suspects should not be arrested just yet—apparently, they needed time to "gather their thoughts."
Tennakoon, however, was not granted this special privilege, making him the only one officially on the run. Yet, despite six dedicated CID teams reportedly hunting him down, the former top cop has proven to be surprisingly elusive.
For those unfamiliar with Tennakoon’s long and illustrious history, let’s take a moment to appreciate his greatest hits. A man known more for controversy than commendations, Tennakoon’s career has been peppered with accusations of police brutality, corruption, and enough Supreme Court rulings against him to fill a small library.
In a particularly bizarre case, Sri Lanka’s highest court found him guilty of torturing a suspect by applying menthol balm to his private parts. The punishment? A slap-on-the-wrist fine of LKR 500,000 ($1,600). If there were an award for “Most Creative Human Rights Violation,” Tennakoon would surely be a strong contender.
Nevertheless, despite such accolades, he somehow managed to climb the ranks to become Sri Lanka’s IGP in 2023—a move met with outrage, eye-rolls, and the kind of disbelief usually reserved for election results and cricket match-fixing scandals.
Currently, the police seem to be playing an elaborate game of hide-and-seek with their former boss. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has admitted that Tennakoon has "gone missing" but assured the public that he would eventually surrender.
Deputy Minister of Public Security Sunil Watagala, ever the optimist, insists that the police are handling the matter independently, while Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala gravely reminds us all that “no one is above the law” (except, it seems, for those granted special exemptions).
Meanwhile, six entire CID investigation teams are reportedly on Tennakoon’s trail. It remains unclear what, exactly, they’re investigating—perhaps whether he possesses an invisibility cloak, or whether he fled to a parallel universe where rogue IGPs get diplomatic immunity.
Adding to the spectacle, Tennakoon has filed a writ petition before the Court of Appeal, challenging his arrest order. The court is set to rule on this tomorrow (17), meaning we may finally discover whether Tennakoon will be held accountable for his misadventures or if he will continue to be Sri Lanka’s most elusive lawman.
For now, the people of Sri Lanka wait with bated breath, popcorn in hand, to see whether justice will prevail or if this saga will just become another forgotten footnote in the country’s colorful legal history.
Stay tuned for updates, assuming the CID manages to find Tennakoon before he pulls off another disappearing act.
-By Our Resident Crime Comedy Correspondent (This report was written yesterday.)
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by (2025-03-17 15:50:16)
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