An overseas travel ban was imposed on MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam today (June 06), on the orders of the Kilinochchi Magistrate’s Court.
The Jaffna District parliamentarian, who represents the All Ceylon Tamil Congress or Ahila Ilankai Thamil Congress (AITC), is accused of his complicity in obstructing the duties of police officers and verbally abusing them during a recent event in Vadamarachchi.
Soon after the incident, MP Ponnambalam was asked to record a statement with the Maruthankerny Police on Monday (June 05). However, he has failed to appear before the police, citing a parliamentary meeting in Colombo.
Thereby, Sri Lanka Police had presented facts related to the matter to court on Monday.
Taking to Twitter this afternoon, MP Ponnambalam said the Kollupitiya Police served him a written notice, asking him again to appear before the Maruthankerny Police, which he refused to accept as he can neither read nor speak in Sinhala. “The subsequently read it to me in Sinhala saying that all they needed to do was to inform me.”
The parliamentarian says the Kollupitiya Police officers then proceeded to ask him to produce himself at the Maruthankerny Police at 10.00 a.m. on June 08.
On Sunday (June 04), Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles had called for a detailed report on the recent heated situation involving the All-Ceylon Tamil Congress leader and a group of police officers in Jaffna.
Accordingly, the minister stated that the Senior Deputy Inspector General (SDIG) of Police of Jaffna had been informed to provide a special report on the incident as soon as possible.
A recent video circulated on several social media platforms showed a heated exchange of words between the MP and several officers, believed to be attached to the Jaffna Police, while Ponnambalam was engaging with area residents.
The tense situation had ensued when the police officers asked MP Ponnambalam to call off his public meeting at the Thalaiyadi playground, in consideration of the students sitting for the Ordinary Level examination at the nearby Thalaiyadi Roman Catholic Mixed School.
Meanwhile, the female organizer of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) was remanded until Wednesday (June 07) after being produced before the Kilinochchi Magistrate’s Court earlier today.
She was arrested on Monday, along with a man, on charges of obstructing the duties of police officers.