President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has extended the term of Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PcoI) probing the incidents of political victimisation that occurred between January 8, 2015 to November 16, 2019.
Accordingly, the term of the Presidential Commission which was set to expire on July 9 has been extended by four months up to November 9, 2020.
The President through an Extraordinary Gazette notification issued on January 9 this year appointed the Commission to investigate complaints of public servants who were subjected to political victimisation during the tenure of the former Yahapalana Government.
The President appointed the Presidential Commission to investigate incidents of political revenge conducted through the Police Financial Crimes Investigation Division and the Bribery Commission from January 8, 2015 to November 16, 2019.
The Commission is tasked with looking into and obtaining information regarding the alleged political victimisation of public officers, employees of state corporations, members of the Security Forces and the Police ervice who held posts during the aforesaid period.
The Commission is chaired by retired Supreme Court Judge Upali Abeyaratne while the other members include retired Court of Appeal Judge Daya Chandrasiri Jayatilake and retired IGP Chandra Fernando.
The Presidential Commission Chairman Upali Abeyaratne had made a written request to the President to extend its period.
The members of the Committee said that the official term should be extended as the investigations are yet to be completed.
The Commission is tasked with looking into improper use of power and influences by third parties on the Bribery Commission, the Police Financial Crimes Investigation Division and the Police Special Investigations Unit.