Author name: Tharindu Withanage

Sunset Holiday Resort for Police Officers, built next to Vankalai Police Station, was declared open by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Priyantha Weerasooriya, on 01.09.2025. The entire construction of this resort has been carried out with the labor contribution of the officers of the Mannar Divisional Engineering Division, and the financial contribution has been provided through divisional grants. Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Northern Province, Thilak C.A. Dhanapala; Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Wanni Range, Samantha Wijesekera; Senior Superintendent of Police in charge of Mannar Division, W. K. A. J. Eric Ranjith; Senior Superintendent of Police in charge of Trincomalee Division, L. Y. A. Chandrapala; Officer in charge of Vankalai Police Station, Chief Inspector of Police Kelum Darshana Senevirathne also participated in this event.

Concurrent with the Police day which celebrates on 3rd of September in every year, a religious ceremony to bestow blessings upon Sri Lanka Police and the country, led by the venerable Maha Sangha, was held under the leadership of Inspector General of Police, having placed police flag and police divisional flags under the sacred Sri Maha Bodhi. Inspector General of Police, Mr. Priyantha Weerasuriya (Attorney-at-Law) together with senior police officers performed religious rituals on 01. 09. 2025, at the sacred city of Anuradhapura, where the most sacred Ruwanweli Seya and Sri Maha Bodhi Buddha reside.

The 41st War Heroes’ Day of the Police Special Task Force, observed in remembrance of the war heroes of the Police Special Task Force fallen in the line of duty serving the country, was held on 01.09.2025 at the Katukurunda Special Task Force Training School, Kalutara, under the leadership of the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security, Retired Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police D. W. R. B. Seneviratne, with the participation of the Inspector General of Police (Attorney-at-law) Priyantha Weerasooriya. 464 war heroes and 06 civilian employees of the Police Special Task Force sacrificed their lives in defence of the sovereignty of the motherland during the war situation that prevailed for nearly thirty years in the Northern and Eastern regions. 774 war heroes were also injured and rendered permanently disabled. On 1st of September, 1984, the first four members of the Special Task Force breathed their last, having been hit by a landmine planted targeting a truck carrying officers of the Police Special Task Force, by LTTE terrorists in the Tikkam area between Jaffna and Point Pedro. Those demised officers are Sergeants of Police Special Task Force, R. Chandrapala, P. A. Ekanayaka, L. D. Nanayakkara, and Police Sergeant Driver H. D. Sumanasekara. Eleven other officers who were in the truck were also injured by the incident. Based on that incident, War Heroes’ Day of the Police Special Task Force is commemorated on the first day of September each year. Senior Officers including the Commandant of the Police Special Task Force, Deputy Inspector General of Police D. G. Samantha de Silva, took measures to observe this ceremony this year as well, accorded with honour, with the participation of the family members of the war heroes.  Senior police officers, including the Inspector General of Police, and Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Training and Higher Training Range, Sajeewa Medawatta, participated in this event. 

The suspects, Kehelbaddara Padme, Commando Salintha, Backo Saman, Panadura Nilanga, and Tambili Lahiru, who were arrested in Indonesia on 27.08.2025, completed the most outstanding operation ever carried out by the Sri Lanka Police in a foreign country, and were brought back to the country by air on the night of 30.08.2025. The Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Ananda Wijepala, and the Inspector General of Police, Attorney at Law Mr. Priyantha Weerasooriya, remained at the airport premises until the arrival of the plane to welcome the Sri Lanka Police officers who were actively involved in the operation from the beginning to the end, amidst great sacrifices, as well as the Indonesian police officers who provided unwavering support for such an outcome and assisted in bringing the suspects safely to the country under strict supervision. The IGP then placed the suspects under the Criminal Investigation Department, under his direct supervision, and gave the necessary instructions and orders to detain them under tight security until they were handed over to the investigating unit.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Mr Marc-André Franche, and the Inspector General of Police held a meeting on the evening of 28.08.2025 at Police Headquarters. Discussions were held regarding the agreements reached on measures to be taken to further enhance cooperation between the Sri Lanka Police and the United Nations, diplomatically, for the facilitation of official duties.

Inspector General of Police Mr. Priyantha Weerasuriya made a courtesy call on the Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, at the Bishop’s House in Colombo in the afternoon of 28.08.2025 and had a cordial discussion. The Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, Deputy Inspector General of Police Shani Abeysekara, also participated in this meeting. The Cardinal bestowed his blessings upon the IGP, and the IGP presented a commemorative plaque to the Cardinal, marking the occasion.