Description

Inspector of Police (IP) Nishantha de Silva of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was reported to have been transferred to Negombo Police Division with immediate effect. IP Silva is the OIC of CID’s organized Crimes Investigation Unit and he has been handling some key investigations including the murder of newspaper editor Lasantha Wickramathunge and the abduction of 11 youths in Colombo,allegedly by some Navy officials. He had successfully completed several investigations including more than 60 crimes committed by LTTE. The sudden transfer was justified as a “service requirement”. According to media, Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) Ravindra Wijegunarathne who was alleged to have been involved in harboring a key suspect in the case of abduction of 11 youth, had instigated this transfer, by implying that IP Nishantha had links with LTTE. However, the Senior Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of CID, refuted the allegations against IP Nishantha. Media reports also indicated the transfer was done based on orders of the President. The transfer was canceled after the media exposure and heavy criticism.