Born in March in 1960, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara is a past pupil of Dharmaraja College, and received his Management B.Com (Special Degree) at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in the field of Management. Later, joining the Sri Lanka Police, he began his career as an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in the Crimes and Operations Unit in Anuradhapura in 1986. Committed to building safe communities and enhancing trust between people and the Sri Lanka Police Forces, IGP Pujith Jayasundara has received wide recognition and commendation for the outstanding services rendered to the Sri Lanka Police throughout his career.
From 1987 to 1988, he served as the ASP of Batticaloa District, based in Eravur, in charge of three police stations, his main tasks included overseeing operations and logistics work of the department. Serving in Sri Lanka’s East during a volatile time period, the then ASP had narrow escapes in the face of terrorist attacks, yet, remained resilient, working in solidarity with police officers to uphold law and order.
His first appointment as Superintendent of Police (SP) saw him move to Ratnapura in 1991, where his work extended beyond the mandate of law and order. He commenced community police activities in the areas of Balangoda, Oppanayake, Kahawatte, Kuruwita working with youth clubs, grama sevaka divisions and the Civil Defence Committees to organise shramadana campaigns. He saw immense value in such activities in bridging the gap between the communities and the police, in an effort to build greater trust between them and fight issues of corruption and crime.
The community work thus initiated was expanded to cover six main areas of focus: health, education, culture, sports, shramadhana and religious activities. Among the activities organised in selected grama sevaka divisions under his leadership were health clinics that saw doctors volunteer to address the health needs of villagers.
He also initiated ‘police star’, an event to empower and engage youth; the torchbearers of tomorrow. Such events were also supported through donations from people and businesses, with the community’s civil defence committees in charge of finances. In conducting such activities in the selected communities, temporary mobile police stations were established to enable people to speak to police officers and work with them towards a common task. While these mobile police stations were withdrawn following the community events, they left lasting impact, serving as sites for gathering of knowledge on police and community activities, helping to reduce crime and corruption in the respective divisions and building greater trust between the people and the law enforcing authorities, thus contributing towards efforts in building safe and secure societies.
Crimes and corruption tear apart families and destroy communities. Throughout his career, IGP Pujith Jayasundara has remained committed to maintaining law and order in societies and to prevent crime and corruption, including the trafficking of drugs, and the sale of illegal material. He continues to work tirelessly, with colleagues and authorities in these areas in his current capacity as IGP.
IGP Pujith Jayasundara has received numerous accolades for his work and firmly believes that ability and willingness equals recognition. He continues to work with strength and diligence, in taking forth the work of the Sri Lanka Police, with a firm resolve to build safe and secure communities not just for the present generation, but also for the future.