The Police have launched an investigation into a viral video showing a female tuition teacher being escorted by police motorcycles and vehicles to an event she had organised.
Police Spokesperson SSP Buddhika Manathunga said that the individual is a private tutor who conducts classes for students preparing for the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination.
Addressing the controversy, SSP Manathunga explained that while the police may provide officers and vehicles for public affairs — such as film productions — this is allowed only after a thorough intelligence review, including the examination of the script and context.
He added that police deployment is also permitted for public events such as musical shows or ticketed functions, but only upon payment of the required fee.
In this instance, the teacher had reportedly requested police support for a ceremony honouring students who passed the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination. The event was said to involve around 8,000 students and 35,000 parents.
However, preliminary investigations have suggested that the teacher may have used the police escort to enhance her personal image, raising serious concerns about the misuse of state resources.
SSP Manathunga stated that an inquiry is underway to determine how the vehicles and officers were allocated for the event and whether any police personnel were involved in the unauthorised use of official resources.