Pivithura Hela Urumaya leader and lawyer Udaya Gammanpila has accused Deputy Minister of Justice Sunil Watagala of hiding warrants, stating that there is reasonable suspicion regarding his actions.
Speaking at a media briefing at the Pivithura Hela Urumaya party headquarters, Gammanpila questioned the competence of the Deputy Minister, pointing out his lack of knowledge about the country’s law enforcement leadership.
“Even the Deputy Minister of Justice, Attorney-at-Law Sunil Watagala, does not know who the Inspector General of Police (IGP) is. He addressed a meeting claiming that it was former IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon, when in fact, Priyantha Weerasuriya is currently being supervised by Deshabandu,” Gammanpila said.
He also ridiculed Watagala’s claim that Deshabandu is hiding in a 65,000-square-foot area, which amounts to 239 perches or roughly one and a half acres. “If he is truly hiding in such a small space, sending twenty police officers should be enough to arrest him within an hour,” he remarked.
Gammanpila further recalled a previous contradiction in Watagala’s statements, where the Deputy Minister had claimed that the biggest underworld leader was hiding in the Mathugama area. Given these inconsistencies, Gammanpila suggested that there is reasonable suspicion that the Deputy Minister himself is involved in concealing the warrants.
