The Sri Lanka Police has been instructed that officers in civilian clothing cannot engage in the inspection of vehicles.

The directive was issued by the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon today. 

The instructions come after a lorry driver in Narammala was shot dead by a Police Officer in civil attire this week. 

The 40-year-old lorry driver, a father of three, is reported to have died on Thursday (Jan 18) after allegedly being shot by an officer from the Narammala Police, who was in civil attire. 

According to eyewitnesses, two Police officers in civil attire had chased after the lorry for failing to heed their commands to stop the vehicle for an inspection at a checkpoint in Dampelessa, Narammala. 

Chasing the lorry on a motorcycle, they had stopped the vehicle, after which the senior Police Officer is reported to have loaded his weapon before approaching the driver, and had later fired at him, the eyewitnesses further claimed. 

The Sub-Inspector (SI) who had fired at the victim has been arrested and remanded until January 23, 2024, by the Narammala Magistrate’s Court. (NewsWire)

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An eyewitness has claimed that the driver of a lorry, who was reported dead after being shot by the Police in Narammala yesterday, had been shot by an officer in civilian attire.

The eyewitness told the media that two individuals in civil attire and on a motorcycle had chased after the lorry, and upon stopping, one individual had loaded the gun after which he had shot the victim. 

Following the shooting, the victim was transported in a Police three-wheeler to the hospital, the witness claimed. “The victim is a young person involved in carpentry. He is an innocent man,” the witness further added.

Meanwhile, another eyewitness has claimed that the Police Officer who shot the victim had loaded the gun before approaching the victim.

“He loaded the gun first and then reached the driver’s window. The Officer then said I will kill you and pulled the trigger. The victim then fell onto the passenger seat after being shot. Upon being inquired by the accompanying officer, the main officer acknowledged that the victim had been shot,” the witness told the media. 

The deceased has been identified as a father of three and a resident of Narammala. 

A tense situation was reported in the Dampelessa area in Narammala following the shooting yesterday. 

At the time, Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said that the victim had been shot as he had failed to heed Police instructions to stop for an inspection. 

A Senior Police Inspector has been arrested in connection to the shooting that occurred around 06.30 last evening.

Police Spokesman SSP Thalduwa said the arrested Police Officer is a 59-year-old attached to the Narammala Police. 

He further said that internal investigations have found that the Police Officer in question had acted in violation of the regulations and practices of the Police Force. 

“The officer had attempted to inspect the vehicle while in civil attire. He has also been found to have chased after the vehicle, and fired the weapon while attempting to check the victim,” he added. (NewsWire)

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A 51-year-old individual has been killed in the bus accident reported in the Dampelessa area in Narammala today.

The Police said the deceased has been identified as a 51-year-old woman from Narammala.

The bus had fallen into a precipice when it was travelling from Alawwa to Narammala this afternoon. 

Nineteen (19) others who were on the bus, including the driver, also sustained injuries in the accident.

The injured have been admitted to the Kurunegala and Narammala hospitals for treatment. (NewsWire / Pic- Accident1st)

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