Field Force OIC remanded for allegedly accepting bribe

Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratna, today, remanded the OIC of the Police Field Force Headquarters until 2 January, for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs.50,000 to provide a recommendation letter to reinstate an Inspector of Police who had been interdicted.

At the outset of the inquiry Counsel Srilal Dandeniya making submission on behalf of the suspect OIC, submitted that issuing recommendation letters to a person who was under interdiction was not within the authority of the OIC.

He also said the interdicted IP is a person with a history of bad remarks. The Counsel said the complainant was in the bad books of the Police Department and had been charged in court for corrupt and dishonest actions.

The Counsel also contended that the Complainant had taken money from the suspect OIC by giving promissory notes which they could produce to the court during the inquiry.

Therefore the Counsel stated that the complainant had fabricated the story with ulterior motive.

The Magistrate ordered the Bribery Officer to conduct an impartial inquiry into the Counsel’s submissions and to file the report in court on the next date of hearing.(T.Farook Thajudeen)