President Chandrika Kumaratunga in a letter dated 18th June 2002, has directed Minister of Interior, John Amaratunga to submit an immediate report on the police raid on the Army’s Elite Deep Penetration Unit.

The President wrote to the Minister of Interior four months ago, requesting him to institute an independent inquiry to establish whether proper procedures were followed in carrying out this investigation; why information was leaked soon after the raid and before the investigators arrived at any conclusions; and why the media were made to announce a cooked up story that this was a conspiracy to assassinate the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers by the President’s Security Division and who directed the media to do so.

"Since I wrote to you requesting this information, I have seen reports in the newspapers indicating that your ministry and the government have accepted that the allegations made against the officers attached to this Elite Unit had not been justified, and that the police had made a mistake concerning the charges directed towards this unit", the President said in her letter this week.

"I am perturbed by this and all the events that took place in this connection. The raid carried out by the police not only compromised the covert nature of the unit, but it also put in jeopardy the lives of the officers attached to this unit as well as the security of the entire security establishment", the letter added.

"Immediate action needs to be taken to comprehensively evaluate the reasons as to why the officers were treated in a most unprofessional and irresponsible manner, thus endangering their lives seriously. Action must also be taken against the police officers responsible for this horrendous incident. Please send me a report on this matter immediately", the letter concluded.