Parliament votes to fire police chief

Lawmakers in Sri Lanka voted to fire the country’s police chief for misconduct and gross abuse of power, making him the island nation’s first inspector-general to be impeached.

In the 225-member parliament, 117 lawmakers voted to fire Deshabandu Tennakoon. No one opposed, while one member abstained.

The removal followed a parliamentary-appointed committee’s inquiry into the allegations against him, which last month released a report finding him guilty.

Tennakoon, who oversaw 85,000 police officers, faced charges of sending a team of armed officers for an illegal raid in 2023 that triggered a gun battle with a separate police unit in southern Sri Lanka. One officer was killed.

Tennakoon was appointed police chief in 2023 by then-President Ranil Wickremesinghe, despite protests from then-opposition lawmakers and civil rights activists who claimed he was not fit for the post.