Politicians influence Police for their personal agendas

Former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara, who has been sent on compulsory leave, on Saturday (25) informed the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the Easter Sunday terror attacks that politicians influence the police for their personal agendas.

Testifying before the Commission, the IGP said that when politicians exert their influence to push their agenda into the police matters, it results in incomplete investigations.

When the Commission bench chaired by Supreme Court Judge Justice Janak de Silva questioned the IGP on instructions he had given to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on the day the statues of Lord Buddha were vandalized in Mawanella, the former IGP said that he had provided verbal instructions to the CID.

“I had given verbal instructions to the CID but now I could not remember the exact date. I asked Senior DIG in charge of the CID, Ravi Seneviratne to take over the investigations,” he informed the Commission.

The IGP added that he could not recollect providing any verbal instructions to former CID Director Shani Abeysekara over the above investigation.

He said that former Western Province Governor Azath Salley had also contacted him over the incident in Mawanella and said that he wants to provide details of the two suspects in connection with the incident.

The IGP who is in remand custody arrived the commission on January 25 at 10 a.m. and testified before the commission for nearly seven hours.

Earlier, the CID had arrested IGP for allegedly committing a criminal offence by failing to prevent the coordinated terror bombings on Easter Sunday last year, even after receiving pre-warnings on the attacks. (Yoshitha Perera)