My Dear IGP,

I thought I must write to you because your police force seems to be very much in the news these days-although I must warn you, you won’t be winning any popularity contests as a result.

Why, IGP, it was only a few weeks ago that you and the men in your Department were being hailed as one of our ‘rana viruwo’ and felicitated at every street corner along with the Army, Navy and Air Force for contributing to the victory over the Tigers. Now, everyone appears to have conveniently forgotten all that!
I suppose the problems started with that student from Malabe being abducted, threatened and assaulted. Some claim a top cop is responsible because the student has had a fight with the cop’s son.

Now, IGP, everyone wants something to be done and for someone to be arrested, because no one has been detained so far. They probably want the cop to be punished too. But then I am sure you have your reasons for not arresting anyone-like, for instance, the principal suspect being the son of a top police officer...

After all, how many ministers’ children have been caught up in one incident or another and how many of them have been dealt with in the proper manner? You have allowed most of them to go scot free, so when it comes to the offspring of one of your own men, I do appreciate that you want to be fair by all and let him get away too. So, why should everyone make so much noise about a little nepotism every now and then, especially in a country where the ‘sahodara samaagama’ is ruling the waves and waiving the rules?
Then, IGP, when your fellows decide to act swiftly and decisively in dispensing justice, they are again blamed. Of course, I am referring to what happened at Angulana the other day and how people have reacted to it.

We all know about the law’s delays and how justice delayed is justice denied which is probably why your men allegedly decided to speed up the process by first detaining the suspects, then interrogating them and then finding them guilty and apparently executing them. How could they leave such matters to the normal judicial process?-they would still be arguing whether to re-introduce the death penalty or not!
And the reward for all that efficient police work is the public stoning the police station and forcing you to evacuate your daring and fearless officers under armed escort-so I don’t envy you at all.

Of course, IGP, I wouldn’t blame you if you yourself are more than a little confused by what is happening in your department these days-because we are. Why, first we are told that the same cop whose son is at the centre of the Malabe controversy has discovered a haul of explosives in the North. That surely must be some co-incidence but then, hardly twenty four hours later, another top cop says that this discovery is rather ‘suspicious’!

Now, if that doesn’t take the award for absurdity, that is only because you have an excellent spokesman who will provide good competition. Why, immediately after any major incident he claims ignorance saying that ‘no complaint has been made’ but the very next day he is back, saying that ‘a special team has been appointed to probe the incident’ and promising an ‘impartial’ inquiry. Why, you must be having a few dozen such ‘special teams’ by now!

Anyway, IGP, after the events of last week, I feel that it is a pity that we didn’t hand over the war against the terrorists to you and your police force alone. Why, with the unique and super efficient way your department handles investigations and metes out punishments, you would have finished the war in next to no time! Then, who knows, you and your Department could have had a chance of winning the Nobel Peace Prize as well!

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha.

PS-By the way, IGP, I hope they haven’t let your men lay their hands on KP. The way your chaps deal with these issues, KP will be kaput before you could say ‘Vaas’ and with that will end our chances of getting to know all the dark secrets of the Tigers...