Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna(SLPP) National Organiser MP Namal Rajapaksa has accused the Inspector General of Police of acting in favour of the ruling National People’s Power (NPP), questioning whether the IGP feels any shame in supporting a government whose MPs allegedly assault police officers in public.

Speaking to the media in connection with allegations that NPP Ratnapura District MP Shantha Padmakumara assaulted a police officer, Rajapaksa said the current Inspector General was behaving not as the country’s police chief, but as the “Malimawa (NPP) police chief”.

He claimed that such actions and political interference were discouraging police officers from carrying out their duties independently. Rajapaksa further alleged that the conduct of the present government showed that the “system has completely changed”, pointing out that MPs who had previously accused the Rajapaksa family over narcotics-related issues were now, he said, involved in cannabis cultivation.

Rajapaksa alleged that police officers who raided a cannabis plantation belonging to an MP of the ruling coalition had been subjected to harassment and pressure. He claimed that one officer involved in the raid had been transferred, while another was allegedly assaulted on the road by the same MP.

He also accused the government of attempting to suppress investigations into a traffic accident involving former Speaker Ashoka Ranwala by using political influence, and claimed that police officers who conducted proper investigations into the incident had later been transferred.

Referring again to the alleged assault on a police officer during the cannabis plantation raid, Rajapaksa said the Inspector General of Police had acted without shame, behaving as a partisan figure rather than upholding the independence and integrity of the police service.