Why is Gota afraid of Shani?

With Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa assuming the presidency of this country in November 2019, a political process began targeting the chief investigating officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), as a result of which Senior Superintendent of Police Shani Abeysekara, who was the Director of the department, was removed from his post. Until November 2019, he also led the investigations into several highly controversial crimes in the country, as well as the brutal Easter Sunday attacks.

Amidst these political changes, steps were taken to send the names of 704 officers serving in the Criminal Investigation Department to the Katunayake Airport Immigration and Emigration Office, prohibiting them from leaving the country without prior permission from Police Headquarters.

This situation became more heated after the Acting Inspector General of Police removed Mr. Shani Abeysekara from the post of Director of the Criminal Investigation Department and transferred him to the position of Personal Assistant to the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Galle. Amidst intense public discussion regarding this transfer, Police Inspector Nishantha Silva, who had closely assisted Mr. Shani Abeysekara in numerous investigations, suddenly left the country on Sunday, November 24, without even informing the Police Department.

Messrs. Shani Abeysekara and Nishantha Silva are two of the foremost officers in the field of criminal investigations in this country. Under their supervision, major incidents such as the murder of rugby player Wasim Thajudeen, the abduction and disappearance of 11 youths around Colombo, the murder of Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, the murder of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge, and the Rathupaswala shooting were investigated. Additionally, they worked to uncover the mysteries of several complex crimes, including the Royal Park murder, the Angulana double murder, the Udatthalawinna murders, and the Mohammed Siyam murder. Furthermore, investigations into the series of Easter Sunday suicide attacks that shocked the entire country were also conducted under the supervision of Mr. Shani Abeysekara, and he had also given evidence before the special parliamentary committee that inquired into the matter.

During the previous Yahapalana (good governance) government, a re-investigation of several crimes committed during the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration from 2005 to 2015 began, and the responsibility for many of these investigations fell upon these officers. Although accusations were made at the time that the Rajapaksas and their close associates were being arrested due to political influence, they stated on numerous occasions that they would not yield to any party and would only properly enforce the law. Furthermore, former President Maithripala Sirisena also criticized the Criminal Investigation Department for arresting military intelligence officers at the time, while the CID's stance was that investigations could not proceed without them as military intelligence was involved in the relevant crimes. During the short period when Maithripala Sirisena appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister, then-IGP Pujith Jayasundara informed the Secretary of Defence in writing about transferring Mr. Nishantha Silva to the Negombo Division, but due to the intense controversy that arose, the transfer later had to be cancelled.

During a discussion with a group of Buddhist monks, then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa alleged that Nishantha Silva had fled to Geneva. The President stated that these officers had acted on the whims of non-governmental organizations over the past five years and had attempted to imprison war heroes who led the war, the Navy Commander, intelligence officers, and even himself. The President, stating that this was neither the rule of law nor justice, also mentioned that investigators had pressured various parties to name him. During this meeting, the Buddhist monks also requested the President to arrest Mr. Shani Abeysekara and review all investigations he had conducted.

However, the then-main opposition, the United National Party (UNP), described this process as a severe political vendetta. UNP Member of Parliament Ranjan Ramanayake stated that Shani Abeysekara is the country's number one honest investigating officer, who cannot be bought with money and is free from party bias. The MP pointed out that it was he who investigated the Central Bank bond scam and exposed the connections between UNP MPs and Arjuna Aloysius, and stated that those attempting to free former MP Duminda Silva were spreading such false propaganda against Shani Abeysekara. Additionally, MP Ajith P. Perera stated that this transfer was a victory for murderers and support for the corrupt, while M. A. Sumanthiran of the Tamil National Alliance also issued a Twitter message stating that this was a politically motivated transfer.

Media organizations at the time also expressed their strong opposition to this decision. The Sri Lanka Professional Journalists' Association sent a letter to the National Police Commission stating that the immediate transfer after the appointment of a new government clearly indicated a political motive. They pointed out that removing the officer who led investigations into attacks on journalists, including the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge, would severely hinder both judicial proceedings and investigations. The Sri Lanka Young Journalists' Association also stated that this transfer was a matter of serious suspicion and requested the Police Commission to immediately cancel it.

Criticism is emerging on social media that under the Malima government, Shani's re-initiation of the Easter investigations is likely to uncover something that Gotabaya Rajapaksa tried to suppress, and that he is therefore afraid.