Defence Secretary General (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne dismissed allegations made by the Colombo Archbishop on the police investigations into the discovery of a hand grenade at the Borella All Saints’ Church.
“It is unfair to criticise police investigations prematurely as investigations are ongoing into the incident. It would be alright to criticise if you cannot be satisfied with the final outcome. The most important thing is that the investigating officers should be able to prove that the suspects are guilty with sufficient evidence. Otherwise, the perpetrators will never be punished before the law,” he said.
Speaking to the media after meeting with Chief Prelates of Malwatta and Asgiriya Chapters, Defence Secretary Gunaratne said the CID has a good knowledge of the investigation and he hopes that they would conduct a proper investigation beyond the expectations of the Cardinal to capture the suspects and bring justice.
He also said that the Cardinal has no right to urge the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to resign from his post.
“I say this because I have respect for the Cardinal. He was not the one who gave the IGP his coat. I do not know whether the Cardinal has a right to say that the IGP’s coat must be taken off. ‘Intelligent people’ are aware of such matters. I as the Defence Secretary know that the IGP is navigating the investigations in this regard well enough,” Gunaratne said.
He assured that all those involved in the incident would be brought to book. “We have already come a long way in this regard. We have taken the investigation into so much more than what the public knows about this,” he added.
