24 April 2019 06:55 am
President Maithripala Sirisena was reported to have told the government that he could not remove Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara because he was appointed on a decision of the Constitutional Council.
He had said this when he met the ministers at his office on Monday evening to discuss the crisis situation triggered by a series of bombings on Sunday killing 321 people.
The President was responding to calls by some ministers that the IGP should be sacked forthwith over his alleged failure to act on intelligence reports and avert the attacks on Easter Sunday.
Sources said the President said on a previous occasion, some ministers had prevented him from removing the IGP through the proper procedure.
Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne called for the resignation of the IGP at a news conference on Monday and said if otherwise he would get the President to expel the IGP from office. (Kelum Bandara)