Sri Lankan president suspends defiant police chief over blasts
Colombo: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has suspended police chief Pujith Jayasundara, his office announced on Monday after the defiant Inspector General refused to quit taking responsibility for the intelligence failure that led to the massive Easter Sunday bombings.
The police chief can only be removed through a parliamentary procedure and Sirisena's action is the first step towards that, officials said.Senior Deputy Inspector General CD Wickremaratne has been appointed as the acting police chief.
Jayasundara has steadfastly refused to heed Sirisena's call to resign following April 21 coordinated blasts on three churches and three luxury hotels.
The attacks carried out by suicide bombers came in spite of early warnings and the security establishment's failure to take preventive action has come under severe criticism.
Sirisena, who also keeps the defence portfolio with him, said he wanted to revamp the security system and his defence ministry secretary Hemasiri Fernando resigned promptly on his request on Thursday.
Deputy Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Nalin Bandara said a motion to remove the police chief will be tabled in Parliament within this week, Sri Lanka Mirror reported.
Noting that the motion will be tabled on the agreement of all government MPs, he hoped to get the backing of opposition MPs as well, it said.
Meanwhile, the police chief has said that he has done nothing wrong and that he would resign if the defence minister resigns as well. Nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 people.
The Islamic State claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) for the attacks.
Sri Lanka on Saturday banned the NTJ and a splinter group linked to the ISIS. A total of 106 suspects, including a Tamil medium teacher and a school principal, have been arrested in connection with the Easter Sunday blasts.
According to Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry, the number of foreign nationals who have been identified as killed remained at 40, including 11 from India.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
US Consulate in Dubai reportedly attacked
Dubai: Smoke was seen rising from an area near the United States Consulate in Dubai, according to witness accounts cited by Reuters.
There was no immediate official confirmation on the extent of damage or whether there were any casualties in the incident.
Earlier, the US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, was also attacked. Authorities reported damage to the premises, but no casualties were recorded.
The developments come amid heightened tensions in the region, with Iran continuing to target US interests in the Middle East following deadly attacks launched on Saturday by Israel and the United States.
Near US embassy in Dubai pic.twitter.com/z5VTZNVxNO
— Sahil Shah (@thesahilsshah) March 3, 2026
