Acting IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon has been accused of violating human rights through his ‘Yukthiya’ anti-narcotics operation.
Moreover, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka has condemned his appointment to head the police after courts found him guilty of sexual abuse and torture of a suspect.
Speaking to the media in Colombo, a top activist for prisoner rights called ‘Yukthiya’ as an unjustified operation.
Sudesh Nandimal de Silva said the public are in severe difficulties due to this operation.
More than 22,000 arrests have been made since its launch on 17 December.
De Silva accused the police of sending people behind bars on fabricated charges.
He also deplored the condition of prisons, saying they are overcrowded and prisoners are not given basics such as food and sleeping space.
According to the Prisons Department, overcrowding was 248.7 per cent in 2020, up from 148.6 pc four years earlier.
At present, it is 511 pc at Kegalle prison and 433 pc at Colombo remand prison.
Public security minister Tiran Alles defended 'Yukthiya', saying he could not stop arresting suspects and that the prisons minister had the duty to manage overcrowding.
