From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
is the professional head of the
Sri Lanka Police
. They are the most senior police officer in
Sri Lanka
and oversees all police personnel throughout the country. The IGP reports to the Minister of Law and Order, when the Police Service is under the
Ministry of Law and Order
as it is currently.
History
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The post of Inspector General of Police in Sri Lanka can be traced as far back as 1797 when the office of Fiscal was created and Fredric Barron Mylius was appointed as Fiscal of
Colombo
and entrusted with responsibility of policing the City of Colombo.
[2]
In 1833, the Head of the Police Service was called the Superintendent of Police, in 1836 the designation was changed to Chief Superintendent of Police.
[3]
The official establishment of the
Ceylon Police Force
was on 3 September 1866 when
William Robert Campbell
(then the chief of police in the Indian province of
Rathnageri
) was appointed as
Chief Superintendent of Police
in Ceylon to be in charge of the Police units.
[4]
[5]
This post officially became the
Chief of Police
but was soon changed to that of the
Inspector General of Police
accordingly William Robert Campbell became the first Inspector General of Police.
[6]
On 26 April 2019
President
Maithripala Sirisena
instructed
Pujith Jayasundara
to resign over failures that led to the
deadly Easter bomb attacks
. Due to a lack of response from Jayasundara, he was put on compulsory leave with Senior DIG
C. D. Wickramaratne
appointed as the acting Inspector General.
[7]
After two extensions Wickramaratne was given a third extension by President
Ranil Wickramasinghe
on 9 October 2023, which was subsequently rejected by the Constitutional Council, with all members disagreeing with the president leaving the validity of the post and making the post vacant for the first time in the country's history.
[8]
On 29 November 2023 Deshabandu Tennakoon was appointed acting Inspector General by President Wickremesinghe.
[9]
He was formally confirmed as Inspector General on 26 February 2024.
[1]
Removal
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The Inspector General of Police can be removed through an investigation by a 3-member committee if found guilty of specified offence(s) under the Removal of Officers (Procedure) Act No. 5 of 2002.
[10]
Inspectors General of Police
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See also
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Notes
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- ^
a
b
Acting Inspector General from 29 November 2023, appointed as permanent Inspector General on 26 February 2024
- ^
On compulsory leave since April 2019 and formally retired on 14 March 2020
- ^
Acting Inspector General from 29 April 2019, appointed as permanent Inspector General on 27 November 2020
References
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External links
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