President Ranil Wickremesinghe has extended C.D. Wickramaratne’s tenure as Inspector General of Police (IGP), according to the Public Security Ministry.
According to the President’s Media Division (PMD), IGP Wickramaratne has been granted a three-month extension as police chief, effective today, subject to the approval of the Constitutional Council.
Due to Wickramaratne’s impending retirement, the President and the Public Security Minister held a special meeting this evening (July 09) to decide on appointing a new Inspector-General of Police (IGP).
Wickramaratne was initially supposed to retire from the police service on March 26, 2023, however, President Wickremesinghe extended his tenure by three months until June 26 by way of a special gazette notification dated April 06.
Thus, the position of IGP was set to be vacant since the end of Wickramaratne’s tenure on 26 June.
Senior Deputy Inspector-Generals of Police (SDIGs) Deshabandu Tennakoon, Nilantha Jayawardena, Lalith Pathinayake, Priyantha Weerasooriya and Ajith Rohana were reportedly among the nominations for the top post of the police force.