Police Chief blames Police for Jaffna’s crime situation

The Police Chief, who was in Jaffna this week to assess the situation following serious concerns over the breakdown of law and order in the region, pointed fingers at his own department for its inefficiency in preventing crimes.

After talks with Northern Province Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran on the current situation in the province, Inspector General Pujith Jayasundera asked the top cops serving in the region what they had been doing all this time instead of taking effective steps to bring the situation under control. An angry IGP, before he got into his vehicle, was heard telling top police officials, “Madhi”- meaning not enough of work was being done by them.

Earlier Chief Minister Wigneswaran blamed ineffective policing and inefficient police personnel for the sudden increase in crime in the region. He also told the IGP that the menace continued with impunity because of corruption in the Police Department.

The IGP was part of a high level delegation that included Law and Order Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara and Deputy Minister Nalin Bandara.

They undertook the visit to evaluate the law and order situation which has been aggravated by gang violence of sword-carrying groups.

During the news conference at the Jaffna Police Head office, the IGP, responding to journalists’ questions came up with many reasons and acknowledged that the Police Department was not an exception when it came to state-sector corruption.

His hand gesture indicating counting notes made the journalists and police officials burst into laughter.