Suspended Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon appeared before the Parliamentary Oversight Committee for the first time today, providing testimony on several controversial matters, including the investigation into underworld figure Harak Kata and allegations of procedural misconduct.
The inquiry committee appointed to investigate and report on the alleged misconduct and serious abuse of power by Tennakoon commenced recording witness testimonies yesterday (23) related to the charges against the IGP.
A total of 15 witnesses are scheduled to testify on behalf of the respondent IGP. Accordingly, Tennakoon appeared before the inquiry committee yesterday (23) and provided testimony from around 9:30 a.m. until approximately 8:00 p.m.
Represented by attorney S. Weerawikrama, Tennakoon was questioned about whether he initiated an investigation into Harak Kata after being appointed Acting IGP in November 2023. He stated that he did, and that a list of names linked through mobile phone contact with Harak Kata was provided to him by former CID Director Prasanna Alwis. The matter was later discussed during a meeting with several senior officers, including former acting Director of the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD), Neville de Silva. Tennakoon said he gave verbal instructions to Neville de Silva to investigate the list, but chose not to refer the matter to the CID. He claimed this was because there were widespread allegations at the time that senior CID officers had links to Harak Kata’s network and might obstruct a proper investigation. Therefore, he said, he handed the case over to the CCD instead.
When asked whether police officers in the area were informed before operations were carried out, Tennakoon responded that in certain cases such notification was not necessary—especially if there was a risk of leaks. He claimed that in some southern police stations, there were officers who feared Harak Kata, had family ties with him, or benefitted in minor ways from his drug trade. As a result, alerting local police before a raid could compromise the mission, he argued. He added that he gave no specific instructions about which officers were to be deployed or whether local police should be informed, because the CCD team involved had prior experience handling such operations. However, he acknowledged that on 29 September 2023, CCD Director Neville de Silva had, in fact, informed the local Weligama police station about the planned raid.
In the afternoon, Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris cross-examined Tennakoon. He questioned whether the CCD had worked with a third party during the operation instead of coordinating with the Weligama police. He asked whether it was not the CCD’s responsibility to investigate who this third party was. In response, Tennakoon said the CID had been informed of the incident and support was requested, but he accepted that some coordination may have happened with another group. Peiris then pressed Tennakoon on why none of the officers who participated in the raid wore official police uniforms, which was against police regulations. Tennakoon said he was unaware of this detail and never instructed anyone to go in plain clothes. He acknowledged that police circulars require at least one officer to be in uniform during such operations and accepted that if this wasn’t followed, it was a lapse in procedure.
Tennakoon also addressed discrepancies in the number of bullets recovered during the operation. According to him, 21 bullet casings were found at the scene, but CCD reported only 15 rounds were fired. He questioned where the remaining six casings came from, stating this raised concerns and suggested misinformation. He claimed that some officers involved had lied to protect themselves and had attempted to pin the blame on him. He added that he had sought relief from the Court of Appeal, but despite this, only he was arrested and remanded.
He was then questioned about whether he had accepted Rs. 1 million from Sri Lanka Cricket. Tennakoon denied this and stated that while he had a working relationship with the SLC Board and had been offered Rs. 250,000 per month to serve as a security advisor, he formally declined the offer in writing. “I haven’t even accepted a pen or envelope from the cricket board,” he said, affirming that he had rejected all financial offers.
When asked about the W15 Hotel in Weligama and whether he had any personal motives to target it, Tennakoon stated that he had no knowledge of the hotel or its owner, and no personal grudge. He denied any interest in targeting the hotel and said sending a police team there to cause disruption made no sense. “This is clearly a politically driven operation to remove me from office using fabricated testimony,” he said.
He reiterated that the investigation into Harak Kata only began after the current National People’s Power (NPP) government came to power, following an anonymous complaint. He suggested that if any other government had been elected, such a complaint would not have even emerged.
Tennakoon concluded by saying that he believed he had been targeted unfairly and politically, despite acting in good faith to address serious criminal networks.
The committee was chaired by Supreme Court Justice P.P. Surasena and included Justice W.M.N.P. Iddawala and National Police Commission Chairman E.W.M. Lalith Ekanayake as members.
The committee is scheduled to reconvene today (24) at 9:30 a.m. to continue hearing the testimonies of the witnesses scheduled to appear on behalf of the respondent IGP.
