C.D Wickramaratne assumed duties as the 35th Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Sri Lanka at the Police Headquarters this morning (27).
Who is this C.D Wickramaratne?
He joined the Police Service in 1986 as an Apprentice Assistant Superintendent of Police and has served in various parts of Sri Lanka. He is a brilliant alumnus of Ananda College, Colombo and holds a B.Sc. degree from the University of Colombo and an M.Sc. degree from the Kotelawala Defense College.
He first joined the police force as a police officer and especially as an intelligence officer. He has served as the Acting Inspector General of Police 13 times from time to time.
The Sri Lanka Police was established as a statutory body by the British Imperialists on September 3, 1866 and GWR Campbell was appointed by the British Imperialists as the first Inspector General of Police in Sri Lanka.
Making history as the long serving Acting IGP
C.D Wickramaratne has been appointed as the 35th Inspector General of Police after 34 IGPs. Pujith Jayasundara, the 34th IGP, was acting acting IGP from May 2019 until President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa recently recommended him as IGP after he was sent on compulsory leave in connection with the Easter attack.
CD Wickramaratne is leading the police as the longest serving IGP in the history of the police. Although Pujith Jayasundara retired from the police service on March 15 at the age of 60, he was not appointed as the 35th Inspector General of Police until recently. He has been in power since the 27th.
Independence of the Inspector General of Police and the Police Commission.
The first IGP to be appointed after the 20th Amendment to the Constitution Mr. Wickramaratne.
Due to this he has the opportunity to act independently in the post of IGP. The powers of appointment, transfer, promotion and disciplinary control and dismissal of the rank of Chief Inspector and below have been vested in the IGP, Senior DIG and DIGs by Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 24/2016 dated 24th April 2017. As amended, it had been transferred by the Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 1965 dated 06.05.2016.
However, the overall policy regarding the antecedents related to these ranks was decided by the Commission. Further, the exercise of the power of attorney by senior police officers, including the IGP, was overseen by the Commission, including the appeal procedure, and all other powers were directly exercised by the Commission.
In this regard, the IGP, who is the Chief of the Sri Lanka Police Service, is required to attend the meetings of the Commission in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and his function is to assist the Commission in providing necessary information, monitoring and recommendations.
However, after the 20th Amendment, the powers of appointment, transfer, promotion, disciplinary control and dismissal of lower ranks, including the Chief Inspector of Police, were transferred from the National Police Commission to the present Inspector General of Police.
There have been several clashes between the National Police Commission and the IGP in recent times over the promotion and transfer of police officers. If the Commission promoted an officer who was not qualified or had committed a previous offense, the IGP would be held accountable for the offenses committed. But with the new amendment, it will be easier for the IGP to select suitable and unsuitable persons as he is responsible for both these functions.