Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayaka has issued a hard-hitting statement criticizing the conduct of the Police in the wake of the Kataragama incident.
"The Police themselves are subjected to the law. When quelling a tense situation or an unruly demonstration, the justifiable force should be used, in strict adherence to operating guidelines, to bring it under control. It appears to be that these fundamentals have not been followed in relation to the incident in Kataragama," the Minister said, in a statement published on all his social media platforms.
"I communicated this very clearly to the Secretary of my Ministry and the IGP at a special meeting yesterday and directed them to initiate action against those responsible without delay," he also added.
The Minister said, "I do not believe that the conduct of certain Police officers in relation to the Kataragama issue is an isolated development. This conduct stems from lack of training and professionalism. If we fail to address the core issue diligently, we will be thrown into similar situations time and time again. Therefore, drastic reforms will be introduced to the Police service, with the support of international experts, in the near future."
Asian Mirror previously reported that Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayaka had lashed out at IGP Pujith Jayasundara yesterday over the conduct of the Police over the recent incidents in Kataragama.
The Minister had stressed that he gave clear instructions to the local Police authorities to work with the villagers to quell the situation. He had also condemned the conduct of the Police officer who shot a motorcyclist dead for defying orders to stop the vehicle.
