Deputy Inspector General of Police D.G. Samantha de Silva was appointed STF chief

Deputy Inspector General of Police D.G. Samantha de Silva, who was appointed as the new Commandant of the Police Special Task Force, which was established on 01 March 1983 with 60 officers and which is currently considered the best paramilitary force in South Asia, assumed duties at the Police Special Task Force Headquarters on the morning of 13th February 2025.

Old pupils of Nalanda College and a large number of officers of the Sri Lanka Police and the Police Special Task Force participated in this occasion.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Samantha de Silva received training as a probationary police officer of the Police Special Task Force Second Group on 01st December 1986 and reported for duties to the Police Special Task Force on 27 March 1987 from the Police College, Kalutara.

He then successfully completed the 10th Combat Training Course and commenced operation duties from the Kaluwanchikudy Camp in the Batticaloa District in July 1987. As a founding member of the jungle warfare small teams established by the Special Task Force in 1988, he has contributed to several special operations in the battles against terrorists for nearly ten years attached to that sub-platoon. Among the officers of the inspectorate attached to those jungle warfare small teams, the only officer still in the service is Deputy Inspector General of Police D.G. Samantha de Silva.

In May 1990, this officer led the control of the groups involved in the robbery of tourist hotels in the Sigiriya area and the recovery of valuable property belonging to foreign tourists and weapons that were in the possession of the robbery groups. While performing his duties in the Eastern Province for small group jungle warfare operations in 1990, this officer was seriously injured in a bomb attack during the battle to capture the Thangavelayadapuram camp in the Kanjikudichchiaru forest in the Ampara area.

In 1996, he was transferred to the general police duties as an Inspector and was promoted to various posts. He served at the Ministerial Security Division, the Judicial Security Division, the IG Secretariat Division, the Ombudsman Division, and as the Director of Headquarters Administration. Having served as the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Range, he is a distinguished officer with extensive experience.

We extend our wishes to Deputy Inspector General of Police Samantha de Silva, who has successfully performed his duties in various fields and has been appointed as the 14th Commandant of the Police Special Task Force, for leading the Police Special Task Force to maintain law and order in a public-friendly manner.