MP Thalatha Athukorala said that 226 security personnel from the VIP Security Division have been deployed to provide security to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Speaking at a news conference held in Colombo yesterday (27), she said there are about 6,000 police officers in the VIP Security Division.

“Out of these 6,000, a large number of people have been deployed for the protection of former presidents. The former president who is responsible for many current plights in this country has been provided with a security detail of 226 personnel,” she said.

Apart from this 226 VIP security personnel, MP Athukorala said Mr.Rajapaksa has also been given military and Special Task Forces protection.

“On one hand, the Inspector General of Police says that 4,000 police personnel are suffering from illnesses. On the other hand, he says 16,000 more are retiring. We are not certain if these police personnel were already sick when they were recruited, if they became disabled during a police duty, or if the stress increased after joining the police. These 4,000 should not be removed from the police force. They should be given the opportunity to work in their selected fields,” she said.