Nugagaha Kapalle Illangakoon

Last updated

Nugagaha Kapalle Illangakoon
Born (1956-04-12) 12 April 1956 (age 67)
Balangoda, Sri Lanka
Police career
Country Sri Lanka Police Service
Allegiance Sri Lanka
Service years1982-2016
Rank1982 - Assistant Superintendent of Police (Kurunegala District)
1994 - Senior Superintendent of Police
1999 -Deputy Inspector General of Police
2006 - Senior Deputy Inspector General (Western Province)
2011-2016 - Inspector-General of Police
Other workDefence Ministry Advisor

Nugagaha Kapalle Illangakoon (born 12 April 1956) was the 33rd Sri Lankan Inspector-General of Police, serving from 16 July 2011 to 11 April 2016. He also served as an advisor to the Ministry of Defence. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Nugagaha Kapalle Illangakoon was born on 12 April 1956 in Balangoda, [2] the youngest in a family of five. [3] He received his education at Udagama Maha Vidyalaya in Balangoda before attending University of Colombo in 1974, [3] where he graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Education. [2] He taught Mathematics and Social Science at Hambegamuwe Maha Vidyalaya in Thanamalwila. [3]

Police career

In 1982 Illangakoon joined the Police Service as a Probationary Assistant Superintendent of Police. [2] His first appointment was as the Assistant Superintendent in-charge of the Kurunegala District. He served in Jaffna, Ampara and Batticaloa as Area Commander. In 1983 he was one of the officers responsible for establishing the Police Special Task Force (STF), [3] serving as the Task Force's first Deputy Commandant. [2] Illangakoon was appointed as the Director Special Branch in 1999 and promoted to Deputy Inspector General of Police. [2]

On 16 July 2011 he was appointed as Inspector-General of Police, replacing the outgoing Inspector-General Mahinda Balasuriya. He retired on 11 April 2016 after five years in the position. [4]

Later work

Following the deadly Easter bomb attacks, Illangakoon was appointed as an advisor to the Ministry of Defence in April 2019, [5] and appointed a member of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the Easter Attacks headed by Justice Vijith Malalgoda, and including former Law and Order Ministry Secretary, Padmasiri Jayamanne, tasked with investigating the causes and background for the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero</span> Sri Lankan Buddhist monk and scholar

Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero was a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk who was one of the most distinguished scholars and expositors of Theravada Buddhism in the twentieth century. He was highly respected by Sri Lankan Buddhists, who believed that he had achieved a higher level of spiritual development. Sri Lankan Buddhists also considered Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero as a Bodhisattva, who will attain Buddhahood in a future life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarath Fonseka</span> Sri Lankan senior army officer

Field Marshal Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka,, commonly known as Sarath Fonseka, is a retired Sri Lankan army officer and politician. He was the eighteenth Commander of Sri Lanka Army, and under his command the Sri Lanka Army ended the 26-year Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009, defeating the militant group, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam; he thereafter briefly served as the Chief of Defence Staff. After retiring from the Army with the rank of General, he entered politics as the common opposition candidate in the 2010 presidential election contesting against President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Police. They are the most senior police officer in Sri Lanka and oversees all police personnel throughout the country. The IGP reports to the Minister of Law and Order, when the Police Service is under the Ministry of Law and Order as it is currently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lanka Police</span> Civilian national police force of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Police is the civilian national police force of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The police force is responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the peace throughout Sri Lanka. The police force consists of 43 Territorial Divisions, 67 Functional Divisions, 432 Police Stations with more than 84,000 people. The professional head of the police is the Inspector General of Police who reports to the Minister of Law and Order as well as the National Police Commission. The current Inspector General of Police is C.D. Wickramaratna.

The National Security Council (NSC) of Sri Lanka is the executive body of the Sri Lankan government that is charged with the maintenance of national security with authority to direct the Sri Lankan military and Police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balangoda</span> Town in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka

Balangoda is a town in Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an urban council located 143 kilometres (89 mi) away from Colombo and 43 kilometres (27 mi) from Ratnapura on Colombo - Batticaloa Highway(A4). It is one of the largest towns of the Sabaragamuwa Province. According to the 2001 census, Balangoda has a population of 16,875 and area of 16.2 km2.

S. A. "Jingle" Dissanayake(16 September 1913 - 11 March 1982) was a former Sri Lankan Inspector-General of Police. He played a major role as Deputy Inspector-General of Police of the Criminal Investigation Department in stopping the attempted military coup of 1962. Later in 1971 during the 1971 JVP Insurrection he was appointed as Additional Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence and coordinated military and police operations that crushed the insurrection in two months.

Deshamanya L. D. Cyril Herath was a Sri Lankan Inspector-General of Police and Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Defence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maithripala Sirisena</span> President of Sri Lanka from 2015 to 2019

Maithripala Yapa Sirisena is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the seventh President of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019. Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province of the country and does not belong to the traditional Sri Lankan political elite. He is currently a member of parliament from Polonnaruwa.

Sisira Mendis was a Sri Lankan police officer. He was a former Deputy Inspector-General of Police and the Director of Criminal Investigation Department. Following his retirement from the Sri Lanka Police, he served as Chief of National Intelligence.

Pujith Senadhi Bandara Jayasundara also simply known as Pujith Jayasundara is a former Sri Lankan police officer. He was the 34th Inspector-General of Police (IGP) from 2016 to 2020. He was sent on compulsory leave from April 2019 following the Easter bombings and retired in March 2020.

John Wilhelmus Lucius Attygalle (1906–1981) was the 16th Inspector General of the Sri Lanka Police (IGP) (1966–1967).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings</span> Series of suicide bombings

On 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday, three churches in Sri Lanka and three luxury hotels in the commercial capital, Colombo, were targeted in a series of coordinated ISIS-related terrorist suicide bombings. Later that day, two smaller explosions occurred at a housing complex in Dematagoda and a guest house in Dehiwala. A total of 269 people were killed, including at least 45 foreign nationals, three police officers, and eight suicide bombers. An additional 500 were injured. The church bombings were carried out during Easter services in Negombo, Batticaloa and Colombo; the hotels bombed included the Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand, Kingsbury and Tropical Inn. According to the State Intelligence Service, a second wave of attacks was planned, but was prevented due to government raids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Thowheeth Jama'ath</span> Sri Lankan Islamist terrorist group

National Thowheeth Jama'ath is a Sri Lankan Islamist jihadist militant group implicated in the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings. It is believed to have ties to the Islamic State (ISIL). President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena banned National Thowheed Jamath on 27 April 2019 and designated it as a terrorist organisation along with Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim.

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the Easter Attacks is a Presidential Commission of Inquiry in to the deadly Easter bomb attacks appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena on 21 April 2019 tasked with investigating the causes and background for the bombings. The commission is headed by Vijith Malalgoda, Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, Nugagaha Kapalle Illangakoon, retired Inspector-General of Police and Padmasiri Jayamanne, retired Secretary to the Ministry of Law and Order.

Chandana Deepal Wickramaratne is a Sri Lankan police officer. He is the current Inspector General of Sri Lankan Police. He was confirmed in the position on 25 November 2020 after having served as the Acting Inspector General of Police from April 2019.

The Sri Lankan anti-Muslim riots were a series of religiously motivated riots targeting Muslims in Sri Lanka. The riots originated as isolated incidents in the aftermath of the Easter bombings in the nation, beginning in Chilaw and subsequently spreading to much of the Northwestern Province.

Dr. Mahinda Balasuriya was the 32nd Inspector General of the Sri Lanka Police (IGP) (2009–2011).

Herbert W. H. Weerasinghe was the 21st Inspector General of the Sri Lanka Police (IGP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commander-in-Chief of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces</span> Commander-in-Chief of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces

The Commander-in-Chief of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces is the ultimate commanding authority of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces, an executive role vested in the President of Sri Lanka.

References

  1. "President appoints new Defence Secretary and CJ". NewsFirst.lk. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Profile of Mr. N.K. Illangakoon". Sri Lanka Police Service . Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Sriyananda, Shanika (8 January 2012). "No political influence in investigations – Police Chief". Sunday Observer . Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  4. "IGP N. K. Illangakoon protected dignity of office – President". Office of President of Sri Lanka . 7 April 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  5. "Picking up the Pieces". The Daily News . 2 May 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  6. "Report of the three-member committee appointed to probe terrorist attacks will be opened for all - President". Colombo Page. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
Police appointments
Preceded by Inspector General of Police
20112016
Succeeded by