The United National Party (UNP) has called on Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Anand Wijepala to immediately resign, taking responsibility for what it described as the deterioration of law and order in the country, including the recent murder of Attorney-at-Law Buddhika Mallawarachchi and his wife.

In a special statement, the party said that several similar incidents had been reported over the past year and alleged that the subject Minister had failed to curb the rising trend of violence.

The UNP further claimed that the killing of Mallawarachchi occurred against the backdrop of a dispute between a lawyer and a police officer, during which the Inspector General of Police had allegedly taken biased action in favour of police personnel. The party also accused the Police of prematurely declaring, within two hours of the shooting and without a proper investigation, that the incident had been carried out by an organised criminal.

Alleging that the Police had become heavily politicised over the past year, the UNP questioned both the ability and the willingness of the authorities to conduct impartial investigations.

The party further stated that the Criminal Investigation Department had reached what it described as the “highest level” of politicisation and expressed doubt as to whether it could conduct an independent and unbiased probe into the murder of Mallawarachchi.

The UNP urged the Attorney General, as head of the official Bar, to hold discussions with the Inspector General of Police and appoint a suitable police team to investigate the killing. It added that the consent of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka should also be obtained in this regard.