Police acted correctly with regard to Ponnambalam incident – Minister Alles
Public Security Minister Tiran Alles told Parliament yesterday that the Police have acted correctly with regard to the incident of MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam from June 5 till now.
The Minister said that all the videotapes related to this incident have been produced in Court so far and all the related scenes will be tabled in Parliament.
The Minister said that the manner in which MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, who is a public representative, spoke to the police officers can not be approved at all. Related investigations would be carried out transparently.
“I not only asked for a report with regard to this incident but intervened quickly in this regard. I even brought the videos that were put in court and watched them. Looking at them, it is very clear that the MP had not behaved like an MP there. The way he spoke to the Police officers, like shut up, can not be approved. I got all the details from the Police. I came to know that when the MP went to that place, there was a crowd there. Because of that, the Police officers who were providing security for G.C.E O/L, an examination center informed the Police about this matter and two officers of our Special Branch came to the place in civilian clothes. The MP and the people who were with him began to question the officers as to who they were. The officers had stated very clearly that they were from the police. Also, the ID card may not have been shown the first time it was requested. I accept that.”
“There was a problem between the MP Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam and the police officers in the Maradankeni police division. Videos related to the incident will be tabled. This information has been recorded to the court. Such incidents cannot be allowed. Even if I talk to the police officers like this, it is wrong. It cannot be approved. When the police officers are asked for information, they throw up their hands and run away to the police officers near the examination center. Because they called these police officers. The MP tried to create a problem by saying various things to the police officers in the examination center”.
“A ‘B’ Report has been submitted to the court regarding this incident related to MP Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam. The Deputy Speaker has been informed before the MP’s arrest. Also, since the 05th, the police have handled this incident correctly. And all the measures have been taken properly. Regarding this incident, the concerned police officers said that they tried to show the identity of those people. But the concerned MP tried to get hold of their identity cards”.