<p>Colombo: Deshabandu Tennakoon, theoretically still the island nation's police chief, is being treated as a fugitive and his team members are on a trail to arrest him, police spokesman Buddhika Manathunga said here on Thursday.</p>.<p>A warrant has been issued for arresting Tennakoon, under suspension since July 2024 and is on the run, and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has been tasked with locating him.</p>.<p>The Magistrate’s court in the southern town of Matara had last week ordered Tennakoon be arrested over a shooting incident in the southern resort town of Weligama, about 150 kilometres southeast of Colombo, on December 30, 2023.</p>.Sri Lanka asks India to stop its fishermen from straying into country's waters.<p>Tennakoon, as the inspector general, had sent police officers from the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) to the resort hotel in Weligama for a raid in connection with illegal drugs.</p>.<p>However, the Weligama police, unaware of the undercover operation, opened fire at the CCD vehicle killing an officer.</p>.<p>Manathunga told reporters that the court ruled that the undercover operation was illegal and eight police officers, including Tennakoon, must be arrested.</p>.<p>Tennakoon, who was suspended by the highest court, is absconding and raids have been carried out since last week at locations where Tennakoon was likely to be. The court has issued a travel ban on him. “We seek public support to arrest him. We treat him as a suspect,” Manathunga said.</p>.<p>Tennakoon was appointed as the police chief in November 2023 despite him being found guilty of torturing a person in custody by the Supreme Court in a fundamental rights petition.</p>.<p>Tennakoon was suspended in July 2024 from functioning by the Supreme Court, which also ordered a hearing on the legality of his appointment after it received petitions regarding it.</p>.<p>An acting police chief was appointed in November last year pending the outcome of Tennekoon’s case.</p>
<p>Colombo: Deshabandu Tennakoon, theoretically still the island nation's police chief, is being treated as a fugitive and his team members are on a trail to arrest him, police spokesman Buddhika Manathunga said here on Thursday.</p>.<p>A warrant has been issued for arresting Tennakoon, under suspension since July 2024 and is on the run, and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has been tasked with locating him.</p>.<p>The Magistrate’s court in the southern town of Matara had last week ordered Tennakoon be arrested over a shooting incident in the southern resort town of Weligama, about 150 kilometres southeast of Colombo, on December 30, 2023.</p>.Sri Lanka asks India to stop its fishermen from straying into country's waters.<p>Tennakoon, as the inspector general, had sent police officers from the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) to the resort hotel in Weligama for a raid in connection with illegal drugs.</p>.<p>However, the Weligama police, unaware of the undercover operation, opened fire at the CCD vehicle killing an officer.</p>.<p>Manathunga told reporters that the court ruled that the undercover operation was illegal and eight police officers, including Tennakoon, must be arrested.</p>.<p>Tennakoon, who was suspended by the highest court, is absconding and raids have been carried out since last week at locations where Tennakoon was likely to be. The court has issued a travel ban on him. “We seek public support to arrest him. We treat him as a suspect,” Manathunga said.</p>.<p>Tennakoon was appointed as the police chief in November 2023 despite him being found guilty of torturing a person in custody by the Supreme Court in a fundamental rights petition.</p>.<p>Tennakoon was suspended in July 2024 from functioning by the Supreme Court, which also ordered a hearing on the legality of his appointment after it received petitions regarding it.</p>.<p>An acting police chief was appointed in November last year pending the outcome of Tennekoon’s case.</p>