Senior cop in trouble over fake news

A senior Police officer attached to the Police headquarters was invited for television and radio programmes. This week, he was in trouble over remarks he made to a Tamil radio station.

The officer concerned had said that former Minister Arumugam Thondaman had declared that as many as 7,000 upcountry people working in Colombo had returned home illegally, thereby causing a major health risk in the central highlands.

This is in the backdrop of strict regulations being implemented to prevent persons from Colombo visiting the outstations.

Mr Thondaman claimed he never made such remarks and had written to the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

The IGP in turn instructed Deputy Inspector General Ajith Rohana who is also in charge of Discipline and Conduct in addition to Legal Affairs to conduct an inquiry.

Thereafter, he wrote to Mr Thondaman stating that the officer concerned was admonished and that they were making an apology to him (Thondaman).