Colombo, Jul 22 (PTI) A parliamentary committee in Sri Lanka found the suspended police chief Deshabandu Tennakoon guilty of misconduct and serious abuse of power and recommended his removal, Speaker of Parliament Jagath Wickremaratna said on Tuesday.

Addressing Parliament, Wickramaratne confirmed that he has received the full report of the Committee of Inquiry, which has recommended the removal of Tennakoon from the post of inspector general of police.

Also Read | Microsoft Cyberattack: Cybersecurity Firms Identify 100 Organisations Affected by SharePoint Server Attack With Continued Access Through Backdoor.

“This Committee, having conducted its inquiries, has unanimously found the officer in question guilty of the allegations brought against him," Wickremaratna said.

It is the first time the parliament has acted against a police chief.

Also Read | Earthquake in Russia: Powerful Quake of Magnitude 6.2 on Richter Scale Hits Kamchatka East Coast.

The committee's report will be tabled as a parliamentary paper, he said.

To remove the police chief, the parliament has to vote on an impeachment.

Tennakoon is the first head of the department in its 159-year history to face impeachment, according to reports.

He was suspended in July 2024 by the Supreme Court, which ordered a hearing on the legality of his appointment.

He was appointed the police chief in November 2023 despite being found guilty of torturing a person in custody by the Supreme Court in a fundamental rights petition.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)