Two including Constable arrested for helping ex-IGP Deshabandu to hide

A Police Constable attached to the Special Protection Division and another individual from Thalawathugoda have been arrested for allegedly assisting suspended IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon in hiding from February 27 to March 19, according to the Police Spokesman.

Tennakoon, who was subject to an arrest warrant in connection with a shooting incident near a hotel in the Pelena area of Weligama in 2023, surrendered to the court on March 19 after evading arrest for nearly 20 days.

He has been remanded until April 3 and is currently being held at the Dumbara Prison in Kandy.

Previously, the Matara Magistrate’s Court had previously issued an arrest order for eight police officers, including former officers of the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) and former IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon, naming them as suspects in the shooting incident that occurred in front of the W15 Hotel in the Pelena area of Weligama, Matara, on December 31, 2023.