July 20, Colombo (LNW): Senior Deputy Inspector General Nilantha Jayawardena has been dismissed from the force after being found culpable in connection with grave lapses leading up to the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks.
Jayawardena, the former head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), has been formally removed from the Sri Lanka Police by the National Police Commission (NPC).
The move follows an extensive disciplinary probe into his conduct during the critical period preceding one of the country’s deadliest terrorist incidents.
He had initially been placed on compulsory leave in July 2024, amid growing public and institutional pressure to hold senior security officials accountable for their roles in the intelligence failures linked to the attacks.
A tribunal comprising three members was appointed to conduct a detailed disciplinary inquiry, the findings of which were formally presented to the NPC on July 04, 2025.
The inquiry concluded that Jayawardena was guilty on all counts of misconduct as outlined in the official charge sheet, though the precise details of the charges remain confidential.
After reviewing the tribunal’s report, the NPC convened on July 17, 2025 and reached a unanimous decision to dismiss Jayawardena from police service with immediate effect. The Commission stated that the gravity of the offences left no room for leniency, particularly given the national and international repercussions of the Easter Sunday bombings, which claimed hundreds of lives and injured many more.
