-By Lanka-e-News Political Editor
(Lanka-e-News -07.June.2025, 9.40 PM) In a land where policemen often swap badges for political brown-nosing and integrity is sometimes sold cheaper than a lottery ticket outside Fort Railway Station, there exists a rare breed of officer. Today, Lanka-e-News is proud — nay, delighted — to present our much-coveted and entirely fictitious but symbolically righteous "Award of the Day" to none other than DIG Shani Abeysekara — the man who refused to bend, even when the entire political circus tried to break him.
If ever there were a Lankan version of “12 Angry Men”, Shani would be the one man saying “No” while the rest lit incense to appease the ruling gods. A product of Mahinda College, Galle — a place known for producing brilliant minds and occasional misbehaving prefects — Shani Abeysekara joined the Sri Lanka Police in 1986, when moustaches were thicker, batons heavier, and corruption... still about the same.
From his early days with the elite Special Task Force and the President's Security Division, Shani marched through the ranks with purpose, conviction, and — most unusually for his time — a spine. By 1999, he had been requested by name (a rare badge of honour) by the venerable DIG Punya de Silva to join the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), where he would proceed to crack cases faster than some politicians change parties.
In fact, his investigative résumé reads like a noir thriller binge-watch list:
The attempted assassination of President Kumaratunga (1999)
The Bandaranaike Airport attack (2001)
The Udathalawinna massacre (2001)
The Royal Park murder (2005)
The Lasantha Wickrematunge killing
The Prageeth Eknaligoda disappearance
And the pièce de résistance — the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.
Forget “Line of Duty.” This man was the duty.
But in true Sri Lankan fashion, what do you do with a police officer who is efficient, incorruptible, and actually seeks the truth? You jail him, of course. Following the rise of the Rajapaksa regime (Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back), Shani was demoted, interdicted, and then imprisoned on charges so flimsy they wouldn’t survive a monsoon breeze. The alleged crime? Being too close to Ranjan Ramanayake — a man known for leaking phone recordings like a broken garden hose.
It was political revenge dressed up as legal procedure, the kind of performance the judiciary reluctantly attends while checking their WhatsApp under the table.
Yet even COVID-19 couldn’t break his spirit — and he survived both the virus and remand prison. In June 2021, the Court of Appeal granted him bail, and for once, justice appeared not only blind but also slightly awake.
Then came September 2024. Enter Anura Kumara Dissanayake, stage left, armed with a mandate, a mop, and promises of cleaning up the nation’s corruption-infested institutions. Amid the cabinet reshuffles, arrest warrants, and “surprise” corruption discoveries, a quiet but powerful decision was made: DIG Shani Abeysekara was back.
The man who once sent murderers, arms dealers, and political goons shaking to the witness stand is now the Director of the newly minted Criminal Intelligence Analysis and Prevention Division — a role tailor-made for someone who thinks 10 steps ahead and doesn’t faint at the sight of a threatening phone call from a minister’s secretary.
Now let’s not pretend. The Sri Lankan Police Service has had its share of bad press — including some officers who confused the Criminal Investigations Department with a dating service for politicians. But then comes Shani — unbought, unbroken, and unrelenting. The kind of officer who doesn’t treat a bribe as a career opportunity, nor twist evidence like a script in a state-run teledrama.
So, dear Shani, this satirical yet heartfelt Lanka-e-News Award of the Day comes to you — not with a trophy or a state pension (you’d be lucky to get that in today’s economy), but with the collective applause of those who still believe this island has room for honour.
May your investigations be swift, your files untouched by political hands, and your phones free of spyware.
Because if there's one thing Sri Lanka desperately needs, it’s fewer sycophants and more Shanis.
Editor's Footnote:
For those wondering, yes, this award comes with zero funding, no ceremonial dinner, and definitely no Prime Ministerial selfie. But it does come with something rarer — respect. And in this country, that's about as valuable as gold dust in a customs warehouse.
-By Lanka-e-News Political Editor
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by (2025-06-07 16:11:34)
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