John Wilhelmus Lucius Attygalle (1906–1981) was the 16th Inspector General of the Sri Lanka Police (IGP) (1966–1967).

Police career

Attygalle joined the

police force The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

on 1 October 1928 as a Sub-Inspector of Police. In October 1947 he was promoted to

Assistant Superintendent of Police Assistant superintendent, or assistant superintendent of police (ASP), is a rank that was used by police forces in the British Empire and is still used in many police forces in the Commonwealth. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held ...

(ASP) as ASP Crimes, Colombo (South) and thereafter was appointed ASP, CID in November 1948; ASP, Ambalangoda January 1950; June 1951 ASP, Colombo Crimes; April 1953 ASP, Western Province (North) and in January 1951 ASP, Jaffna. In January 1962 Attygalle, who was then the

Superintendent of Police Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...

of the

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...

(CID), played a major role in stopping the attempted military coup. Attygalle together with

Felix Dias Bandaranaike Felix R. Dias Bandaranaike ( Sinhala:ෆීලික්ස් ඩයස් බණඩාරනායක) (5 November 1930 – 26 June 1985) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, who served as Cabinet Minister of Finance, Parliamentary Secret ...

and

S. A. Dissanayake S. A. "Jingle" Dissanayake(16 September 1913 - 11 March 1982) was a former Sri Lankan Inspector-General of Police. He played a major role as Deputy Inspector-General of Police of the Criminal Investigation Department in stopping the attempted ...

(Deputy Inspector General of the CID) informed

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Sirimavo Bandaranaike at her residence about the attempt to take over the Government by a coup by certain army, navy and police personnel, on the eve of the coup, which resulted in its failure to occur and the arrest of the coup organisers. In 1963 following the appointment of Dissanayake as Inspector-General of Police he took on the role of Deputy Inspector General of the CID. In early 1966 Dissanayake was placed on compulsory leave, he was then replaced by Attygalle as Inspector-General in June that year. In July 1966 he arrested

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Richard Udugama Major General Deshamanya Alexander Richard Udugama, MBE (11 November 1911 – 14 May 1995) was a Sri Lankan military leader, politician and diplomat. Former Army Commander (1964–1966), he was elected as Member of Parliament for Matale from ...

, the Commander of the Ceylon Army, at the

Bandaranaike International Airport Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) ( si, බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ, translit=Bandāranāyaka Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa; ta, பண்டாரநாயக்க � ...

for his purported involvement in an alleged coup d'état attempt. Udugama was subsequently found not guilty by the Supreme Court and acquitted of all charges. On 1 October 1966 Attygalle established the Police Public Relations Division at Police Headquarters, Colombo. On 1 April 1967, Attygalle arranged for the Police Training School to be shifted from

Kalutara Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south o ...

to Echen Square Barracks, which were occupied by the

Sinha Regiment The Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා සිංහ රෙජිමේන්තුව ''Śrī Laṃkā Sinha Rejimēnthuva'') is an infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army; it is the second oldest infantry r ...

of the

Ceylon Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

. The Police Training School was subsequently relocated back to its original premises in Kalutara in December 1970. On 8 July 1967 he retired from his position as Inspector-General of Police.

Later work

In 1969 Attygalle, who had been appointed as a special security advisor to the

Ministry of External Affairs and Defence Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

in July 1967, prepared a report on the potential threat of the communist

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; ) is a Marxist–Leninist communist party and a former militant organization in Sri Lanka. The movement was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 (SLFP), and anothe ...

(JVP) which was presented to the

Dudley Senanayake Dudley Shelton Senanayake ( Sinhala: ඩඩ්ලි ශෙල්ටන් සේනානායක: ta, டட்லி சேனநாயக்கா; 19 June 1911 – 13 April 1973), was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as Prime Min ...

, for consideration. It is felt that the government's subsequent inaction against the JVP precipitated the JVP insurrection in 1971. Attygalle died on 23 March 1981 at the age of 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Attygalle, John 1906 births 1981 deaths Sri Lankan Inspectors General of Police Sri Lankan Christians People from British Ceylon