A false claim that former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s security was completely removed!

The number of officers assigned for the protection of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe was a hot topic of discussion among people recently. Even before the heat subsided, there were social media notes claiming that the security of the former president was completely removed, and below is a fact checking we did in that regard.

(Social Media Posts) :

Posts were circulated in social media stating that “the security of the former president is completely removed”. Here is a video published in this regard.

Facebook

Here is a shared Facebook post.

Facebook | Archived Link

The news was shared even through WhatsApp.

This is how we took steps to find the accuracy of these claims.

Fact Check :

We first checked whether the mainstream media had reported such a news, but we could not find any mainstream media reporting that the former president’s security had been completely removed.

Police Spokesman

Police spokesman DIG, lawyer Nihal Thalduwa said in this regard that the rumors that the former President’s security has been removed are completely false.

He further stated that 163 officers, 50 police special task force officers, 06 elite security officers and a group of transferred officers will continue to work for the protection of the former president and the number of officers to be given to him will be determined and established soon.

Secretary of Ranil Wickremesinghe

We inquired about this from Dr. Lasantha Gunawardena, a secretary of Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, and he stated that the advertisements published on social media are false.

He further mentioned that 300 officers assigned to the former president’s security have been removed, but 163 officers have been deployed.

Former president, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe had sent a letter to the secretary of the new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake and asked him to establish a security division for his protection.

The demands include 163 security guards, more than 15 chefs, 30 umbrellas, 6 medical officers, a computer, a printer and a dragon light.

Join us to learn about our investigative reporting.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google News | TikTok

Conclusion :

Our investigation shows that the social media reports that the former president’s security has been completely removed are false. It is confirmed by DIG, lawyer Mr. Nihal Thalduwa, and Dr. Lasantha Gunawardena, a secretary of Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe.

163 officers, 50 police special task force officers, 6 elite security officers and other officers have already been deployed for the security of the former president.‍R