From Beat Cop to Top Cop: The Priyantha Weerasooriya Story

It’s the kind of career leap that makes police canteen chatter go quiet — and then explode with gossip. In the 158-year history of the Sri Lanka Police, no one had ever climbed from police constable to the Inspector General’s chair… until Priyantha Weerasooriya walked in.

Dodangoda to the Top Seat

Born in Dodangoda in 1969, Weerasooriya joined the force at just 19 in 1988, starting as a beat cop in the middle of the late-80s insurgency. His early years saw him in the Special Task Force, the traffic division, and even handling gritty crime scenes.

By 1992, he’d been promoted to sub inspector with stints in Colombo and conflict-scarred Vavuniya — postings that, in police circles, are considered “trial by fire.”

Brains and Brass

Here’s where the story takes a twist that fuels the “have you heard?” whispers: while pounding the beat, Weerasooriya quietly earned a law degree from the University of Colombo, qualified as an attorney, and — in 1999 — aced the direct-entry exam to become an Assistant Superintendent of Police.

Not content with that, he added a business administration degree and a master’s in law to his CV, building a profile more like a corporate CEO than a career cop.

The Climb No One Saw Coming

From there, the promotions kept coming:

2007 – Superintendent and Director of the Police Legal & Logistics Division.

UN peacekeeping stints in East Timor and Haiti (2007–2010), adding an international sheen to his résumé.

2016 – Deputy Inspector General.

2020 – Senior DIG, overseeing Strategic Management, Crime, and Traffic.

2024 – Senior DIG for North Central Province.

September 26, 2024 – Appointed Acting IGP after the suspension of Deshabandu Tennakoon — and history was made.

The Man in Charge

Since taking the top job, Weerasooriya’s been making headlines for more than his backstory. In early 2025, he declared war on organized crime, mapping 58 gangs and cracking all 17 shooting cases reported that year. His cross-border law enforcement ties have seen 19 suspects extradited back to Sri Lanka.

And when allegations of custodial torture hit the papers? He suspended four officers before indictments were even filed — a move that made both human rights activists and some old-guard officers take notice.

A Reformer in Uniform

Inside police HQ, Weerasooriya is known as the guy who will:

Transfer officers over misconduct reports.

Mandate drug tests for reinstatement after suspension.

Publicly affirm that civilians have the right to record police on duty.

He’s also gone toe-to-toe with the National Police Commission over transfer authority — a power struggle that made its way to the Constitutional Council before a truce was struck.

The Gossip in the Ranks

Around police mess tables, opinions split:

Some call him the ultimate role model — proof you can start at the bottom and reach the top on grit, brains, and sheer persistence.

Others mutter that today’s politicised climate means such a rise might be impossible for anyone else, ever again.

But for now, Priyantha Weerasooriya owns the story. From his first beat in Dodangoda to the leather chair in the IGP’s office, he’s rewritten the rulebook — and maybe, just maybe, restored a little hope that the police force can be about service, not just connections.