Colombo, Apr 13 (PTI) Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne has started the process to appoint a three-member panel to probe the conduct of suspended police chief Deshabandu Tennakoon, officials said on Sunday.

Officials said the speaker has notified the Chief Justice and other relevant parties on the issue to appoint the committee comprising a judge of the Supreme Court, the chair of the independent police commission and an eminent person from the field of law or administration.

Once the committee is established, the investigation is expected to begin immediately. The committee shall inquire and report its findings to the speaker.

Tennakoon would then be removed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake after his address to parliament on the findings of the committee on grounds of charges made against the police chief.

Tennakoon surrendered to the Matara Magistrate’s Court through his lawyers by filing a motion on March 19 after an arrest order was served on him by the court in the southern town of Matara in late February.

He evaded arrest for nearly three weeks after being charged for his role in a shooting incident in the southern resort of Weligama on December 30, 2023.

Tennakoon had been suspended from functioning by the Supreme Court in July last by ordering a hearing on the legality of his appointment.

He was appointed the police chief in November 2023 despite being found guilty of torturing a person in custody by the apex court in a fundamental rights petition. PTI CORR ZH ZH