Deshabandu gets bail ahead of likely sacking

Sri Lanka’s police chief was granted bail after three weeks in jail, following the launch of a parliamentary process to remove him over a litany of criminal allegations.

A magistrate in the southern city of Matara released Inspector-General Deshabandu Tennakoon, setting the bail at two million rupees ($6,660) and scheduling the next hearing for May 22.

Tennakoon surrendered last month after more than two weeks on the run. He is accused of ordering a botched drug raid in 2023 that resulted in the death of a police officer.

On Tuesday, legislators voted unanimously to open a formal investigation into his conduct. He is widely expected to be impeached unless he resigns.

Tennakoon was appointed Inspector General of Police in November 2023, despite Sri Lanka’s highest court having previously found that he had tortured a suspect in custody by applying menthol balm to the victim’s genitals.

The drug bust he ordered led to a gunfight between rival police units in the coastal resort town of Weligama. No narcotics were recovered.

The Supreme Court suspended Tennakoon in July 2024, pending the outcome of a separate case.

The parliament speaker is expected to appoint a three-member panel, headed by a Supreme Court judge, to examine allegations of corruption and abuse of power.

If he is found guilty, his removal must be endorsed by an absolute majority of MPs. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is believed to command sufficient support in parliament to secure Tennakoon’s dismissal comfortably.

Last month, a state prosecutor told the court that Tennakoon was the “head of a criminal network” and unfit to lead the 85,000-strong police force.