Sri Lanka Police have launched an investigation into a video going viral on social media, which depicts a female tuition teacher being escorted by police motorcycles and vehicles to an event organized by her.
Police Media Spokesperson SSP Buddhika Manathunga confirmed that the individual in question is a private tuition teacher who conducts classes for students preparing for the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination.
Addressing the controversy, SSP Manathunga explained that the Sri Lanka Police may provide officers and vehicles for specific public affairs — such as for filming a movie — but only after a thorough intelligence review of the request and its context, including the script.
He further clarified that police officers may also be deployed for public events such as musical shows or ticketed functions, but this is permitted only upon payment of a required fee.
In this particular case, the teacher is reported to have requested police support, claiming it was needed for a ceremony honoring students who had successfully passed the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination. The event was said to involve nearly 8,000 students and 35,000 parents.
However, preliminary investigations have revealed that the teacher may have used the police escort to boost her personal image, raising serious concerns about the misuse of state resources.
Police have since launched an inquiry into how the vehicles and officers were allocated for the event, and whether any police personnel were complicit in the unauthorized use of official resources, SSP Manathunga said.
Former Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has filed a petition before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court today (May 14), seeking anticipatory bail against his possible arrest by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
The application has been filed over his possible arrest over the importation of a shipment of substandard organic fertilizer during the tenure of the previous government.
Following the submission of the petition, Colombo Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali issued a notice to the Bribery Commission, directing it to present its position regarding the matter to the court on May 19.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has issued an official statement over the ministry’s name being used by courses and programmes of the National Youth Services Cooperative (NYSCO).
The ministry states that NYSCO has been unauthorizedly using its name and the official state emblem to promote their courses and while using them in the relevant certificates as well.
The ministry says that they have also appointed a separate committee to investigate the issue, on the directives of the COPE committee.
The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs further reiterated that it is not affiliated with any of the courses or programmes offered by NYSCO.
The full statement issued in this regard, is as follows :
On the instructions of President Anura Kumara Disanayake, the funds allocated from the President’s Fund for those who lost their lives in the recent bus accident in the Garandi Ella area, Kotmale have now been forwarded to the relevant Divisional Secretariats.
Accordingly, a sum of Rs. 1 million will be provided for each individual who lost their life in the accident, and the funds will be handed over to their respective family members.
These funds have been released to the Divisional Secretariats of the following areas -Tissamaharama, Lunugamvehera, Welimada, Haldummulla, Ella, Kundasale, Bamunakotuwa, Paduwasnuwara West, Polpithigama, Wanathawilluwa, Chilaw, Buttala, Thanamalwila, Wellawaya, Kanthale and Rambewa where the 22 individuals who lost their lives in the accident were residents.
