Police officers stuck as Cis for 15 years seek redress from President

By Piyumi Fonseka

A group of 114 Police Chief Inspectors (CIs), claiming to have been deprived of due promotions for 15 years, have written to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, requesting immediate promotions.   

In a letter, the officers, who had assumed duties as CIs between 2003 and 2006, are claiming that they have been denied promotions despite being in service for more than 15 years in the same position.   

The officers said that they believed that they had been subject to discrimination as there had been continuous pledges given by higher-ups of the government promising immediate promotions.   ‘The National Police Commission (NPC), which is the designated governing body to manage human resources of the Police Service, is continuing to disregard our requests,” the letter said.   

The officers claim that the NPC is only interested in promoting officers with personal affiliations and political influence.   

In an attempt to seek a solution, the officers have met NPC Commissioners and the Secretary of Defense on several occasions and they said that they were assured that the promotions would be expedited soon. Yet, there has been no follow-up action to date.