<p>Sri Lanka's top police officer was on Friday arrested for allegedly concealing evidence in a weapons case, police said.</p>.<p>Shani Abeysekera, former director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), is accused of concealing evidence in a weapons case involving former deputy inspector general of police Vas Gunawardena, who is currently in jail.</p>.<p>Gunawardena was jailed for five years by the Colombo High Court in 2018 after he was found guilty of threatening Abeysekera, who was investigating a murder case against him.</p>.<p>Gunawardena was arrested in 2013 in connection with the murder of a businessman.</p>.<p>Abeysekera was transferred out from his crime investigation police role to a province immediately after the presidential election in November.</p>.<p>He was handling corruption cases against the Rajapaksa administration between 2005 and 2015. Mahinda Rajapaksa was the country's president during the period.</p>.<p>His investigations led to the arrests of several members of the Rajapaksa family and their close associates. They were all released on bail.</p>.<p>Citing political victimisation, Abeysekera in December 2019 filed a fundamental rights petition before the Supreme Court challenging his transfer and urging it to issue an order reinstating him in his previous role as the CID director.</p>.<p>In January, he was banned from travelling abroad after a leaked telephone conversation purported to be between him and former minister Ranjan Ramanayake revealed that he shared sensitive information with him.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, the Opposition accuses the government of carrying out political vendetta against Abeysekera. </p>
<p>Sri Lanka's top police officer was on Friday arrested for allegedly concealing evidence in a weapons case, police said.</p>.<p>Shani Abeysekera, former director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), is accused of concealing evidence in a weapons case involving former deputy inspector general of police Vas Gunawardena, who is currently in jail.</p>.<p>Gunawardena was jailed for five years by the Colombo High Court in 2018 after he was found guilty of threatening Abeysekera, who was investigating a murder case against him.</p>.<p>Gunawardena was arrested in 2013 in connection with the murder of a businessman.</p>.<p>Abeysekera was transferred out from his crime investigation police role to a province immediately after the presidential election in November.</p>.<p>He was handling corruption cases against the Rajapaksa administration between 2005 and 2015. Mahinda Rajapaksa was the country's president during the period.</p>.<p>His investigations led to the arrests of several members of the Rajapaksa family and their close associates. They were all released on bail.</p>.<p>Citing political victimisation, Abeysekera in December 2019 filed a fundamental rights petition before the Supreme Court challenging his transfer and urging it to issue an order reinstating him in his previous role as the CID director.</p>.<p>In January, he was banned from travelling abroad after a leaked telephone conversation purported to be between him and former minister Ranjan Ramanayake revealed that he shared sensitive information with him.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, the Opposition accuses the government of carrying out political vendetta against Abeysekera. </p>