162nd Remembrance Day of Police Heroes “Police Heroes, you shall be eternally remembered!”

• It is a characteristic of the brave police officers that their ability to act regardless of the risks they face in creating the environment necessary for everyone in our motherland to live without fear and suspicion
• Remembering the fallen police heroes is the utmost respect that can be bestowed upon them to recognise the sacrifices they made
• Police martyrs are heroic police officers who have sacrificed their lives while discharging their duties

The 162nd Remembrance Day of Police Heroes, on which the heroic sacrifice of police heroes is commemorated, falls on March 21, 2026.   

The first police hero’s name that appears in the annals of Sri Lanka Police is that of the officer Sabhan, who made his ultimate sacrifice on March 21, 1864, while performing duties with dignity as a full-fledged police officer. While making an attempt to apprehend Utuwankande Saradiel, the officer Sabhan was shot dead by Mammale Marikkar, an associate of Saradiel and the then Government Agent in charge of Kegalle, E. R. Saunders.   

 erected a monument in remembrance of Officer Sabhan in the Mawanella Police Area on the Colombo-Kandy road.   

Subsequent to the demise of Officer Sabhan, the day was named Police Heroes’ Day. Thereafter, the heroic name mentioned in the annals of the Sri Lanka Police is that of Police Constable 289 K. Thambi Muttu, who was killed in 1894 while attached to the Borella Police Station.   

Police martyrs are heroic police officers who have sacrificed their lives while discharging their duties to protect law, order and territorial integrity of the country, as well as the lives and property of the public. There are special reasons to consider police officers who have died and sustained injuries in the line of duty as true heroes. They stood up for the duty they have sworn to perform, and for the rule of law of the country, more than their family, children and personal lives. They have never been dismayed when investigating and preventing crimes, drugs, road accidents, and corruption, or in the face of terrorist activities.   

It is a characteristic of the brave police officers that their ability to act regardless of the risks they face in creating the environment necessary for everyone in our motherland to live without fear and suspicion.   

Police heroes, who have sacrificed their lives in various challenging situations we faced, especially in combating organised armed criminals and drug traffickers, as well as those who have sacrificed their lives for the unitary state of the country during the war that prevailed for three decades in Sri Lanka, are forever remembered.   

We have memories of many occasions where police officers were discharging their duties regardless of the risk to their lives, to save the public during natural disasters such as floods, landslides, and cyclones, and epidemics such as COVID-19. Although such instances we witnessed recently, where the police officers had sacrificed their lives, were sensitive situations that have touched our hearts, it is with great respect and pride that they are remembered.   

The use of advanced technological methods and modern weapons for recent organised crimes and the cunning tactics of drug traffickers have put the lives of officers performing police duties at greater risk. Furthermore, there have been reported instances of police officers, who are engaging in traffic duties, being killed due to the negligence of drivers. It is with great pride that we declare on a day like this that all police officers who perform their duties under such perilous conditions are also true heroes serving the country and nation.   

Among the officers who lost their lives while on duty, the most recent incident was a police officer getting hit by a motorist at a roadblock in Ambalangoda town, located within the Ambalangoda Police Area.   

The police officers perform their duties under the keen supervision and mentorship of the Inspector General of Police, Mr Priyantha Weerasooriya, for the prevention of organised crimes and narcotics, which act as a strong force for the destruction of society by ruining the lives of the people without any distinction between the young and the old or male and female. The police officers are performing their duties round the clock by putting their lives in danger with the aim of creating a peaceful country by eradicating menaces.   

The number of police officers who died during the war is 2,598, and the number of police officers who were rendered disabled during the war is 1,575. The total number of police officers who sacrificed their lives while discharging the honourable duty of ensuring law and order in the country is 3,191, and the number of retired officers who have suffered disabilities while engaging in such duties is 58.   

Remembering the fallen police heroes is the utmost respect that can be bestowed upon them to recognise the sacrifices they made. Paying tribute to the heroism of such officers together with their family members is living proof that they will never be forgotten.   

The 162nd Remembrance Day of Police Heroes, which is to be celebrated with pride on 21.03.2026, at the Police Field Force Headquarters under the leadership of the Inspector General of Police, Mr Priyantha Weerasooriya (Attorney-at-Law). Dependents and family members of police officers who lost their lives in action and while maintaining law and order, as well as retired police officers who were disabled due to terrorist acts while performing their duties maintaining law and order, are also scheduled to participate   

Necessary measures have been taken to offer floral tributes to the Police Heroes’ Memorial at Police Field Force Headquarters, together with the participation of the Inspector General of Police, dependents of deceased police heroes and retired police officers who were disabled.   

On the 162nd Remembrance Day of Police Heroes, we commemorate the police heroes who made the supreme sacrifice selflessly to preserve law and order within the country in defence of the freedom we enjoy today.

(Article prepared by the Police Media Division on the occasion of the 162nd Remembrance Day of Police Heroes commemoration of the Sri Lanka Police.)