SLPP general secretary arrested over remarks about police chief, then bailed

The general secretary of the opposition Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, Sagara Kariyawasam, was arrested on Monday over remarks he made concerning the Inspector General of Police, Priyantha Weerasooriya, before being granted bail by the Kaduwela Magistrates Court hours later.

Kariyawasam, an attorney-at-law and former MP, had been summoned to appear before the Colombo Central Crime Investigation Bureau to give a statement about comments he made at an SLPP media briefing on 3 August. He was arrested at around 10.45am after arriving at the bureau, and produced before the court at about 3.30pm.

At the briefing, Kariyawasam had referred to the fate of former inspectors general of police while addressing the responsibilities of the incumbent, urging the police chief to act in the interests of the state and the public rather than the government of the day. News1st reported that he said he did not want Weerasooriya to become "the 37th Inspector General of Police who died after being beaten on the roadside by members of the public".

A police official said Weerasooriya considered the remarks a death threat. The investigation concerned allegations that the comments amounted to threats against the police chief and to statements capable of bringing the president into public disrepute and inciting disaffection towards the government. Charges were filed under several sections of the Penal Code, following complaints from the IGP and from three chief incumbents of temples. Kariyawasam had earlier said his comments were misinterpreted.

Investigators filed a B report and asked the court to remand Kariyawasam until 24 August, arguing that further investigations were necessary. The magistrate declined.

After lengthy submissions from both sides concluding at around 4.30pm, Kaduwela Chief Magistrate Aruna Indrajith Buddhadasa considered the arguments for nearly three hours before delivering a 17-page order releasing him on two surety bonds of 2 million rupees each, and imposing a ban on his leaving the country, with the Department of Immigration and Emigration to be informed. Kariyawasam was permitted to leave court after fulfilling the bail conditions. A number of opposition parliamentarians and party representatives were present during the proceedings, the Daily Mirror reported.

The arrest is the latest involving figures associated with the Rajapaksa family and its political network since the National Peoples Power came to power in 2024 on a platform of tackling corruption. The SLPP, founded by the Rajapaksas, governed the island under Gotabaya Rajapaksa before he was forced from office by mass protests in 2022, and now sits in opposition with a much reduced parliamentary presence.

Last week the former minister and senior United National Party figure Akila Viraj Kariyawasam was arrested by the anti-corruption commission over allegations that state employees were deployed to work at his fuel station.

Critics have argued that the governments enforcement drive has fallen more heavily on figures from previous administrations than on its own, pointing to its decision to back the energy minister Kumara Jayakody, who faced indictment over alleged misappropriation, and to oppose a parliamentary no-confidence motion calling for his resignation.