The National Police Commission has cancelled proposed transfers of several senior Police officers, including Senior Deputy Inspector General Ranmal Kodituwakku and Police Narcotics Bureau Deputy Inspector General Ashoka Dharmasena.
The decision was taken at a National Police Commission meeting on October 1 after considering transfer proposals submitted by Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasooriya.
The cancelled transfers also reportedly include those involving the Director of the Police Narcotics Bureau, two Superintendents of Police and a Woman Chief Inspector, among other officers.
Police Headquarters had earlier decided to propose transfers of several senior officers.
Contemporary reporting citing Police Media says those proposals had been made on institutional grounds and in connection with ensuring the independence of investigations.
The National Police Commission subsequently decided not to approve several of the proposed transfers.
The decision comes while Kodituwakku and other Police officers have been examined over the handling of intelligence concerning two containers suspected of carrying illegal narcotics that were later detected at Colombo Port.
Kodituwakku has provided a statement to the Criminal Investigation Department in connection with the matter.
Separately, the Inspector General of Police has ordered the CID to conduct a criminal investigation into alleged failures and negligence by Police personnel in responding to the intelligence.
These are related developments, but they have different legal and administrative meanings.
The Police Commission's decision to cancel the proposed transfers does not establish that any officer has been cleared by the criminal investigation.
Likewise, the fact that an officer is being questioned or investigated does not establish criminal responsibility.
No inference about the Commission's motives should be made beyond the reasons established in official or reliably attributed accounts.