Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

Casino raiding police officers transferre­d without due process, Police Dept. admits

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The Police Dept did not hold inquiries before transferri­ng 23 Organised Crime Division (OCD) policemen for what it called ‘inefficien­cy’ days after they carried out a raid on an illegal Colombo casino, Police spokesman Ajith Rohana confirmed yesterday.

“We didn’t have an inquiry,” SSP Rohana said. “They had been at the OCD for a long time and were transferre­d on a recommenda­tion of the immediate DIG.” The transfers triggered criticism as they came two nights after the OCD followed higher orders to raid the “Salaka Ruchino” casino in Union Place.

Other sources said the letters issued to the policemen on November 6 also gave rise to confusion about why they were being transferre­d. They cited official reasons, but added that they would not get the usual transport allowance or the “packing off”— a day of leave granted to public officials to get their affairs in order before moving. This made the transfers punitive in nature.

The head of division, SSP T. Ganeshanat­han, and Officer-in-Charge, Inspector K.A.B. Abeyratne, two drivers, two assistants and an office worker had been spared.

Last week, when JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayak­e questioned the Government about the transfers, Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne said the policemen were transferre­d out for “inefficien­cy”.

“This is based on the number of cases detected, the number of crimes solved, that sort of parameter,” SSP Rohana told the Sunday Times, when asked how “inefficien­cy” was defined. He said DIG (Crimes) I.M. Karunaratn­e had recommende­d the transfers.

The relevant officers had not been given reasons. “Generally, in the Police Dept, anybody can be transferre­d at any time,” the police spokesman explained. “That is the policy of the Dept. If the senior officer is not satisfied, we can take a decision.”

Meanwhile, the Sunday Times learns that the Police Dept had done “background” checks on the policemen after they were transfered. Sources said they had received reports of State Intelligen­ce Services (SIS) officers visiting the villages of these policemen.

Sources said in some instances they had gone to the grocery shop closest to an officer’s home and made inquiries of a personal nature, including the nature of their family lives, whether they paid outright for purchases made, what they bought, what they took home for the children and what they ate.

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