Sri Lankan police recruits record number of Tamils in force

Colombo, Jan 8 (ANI): A record number of Tamils have reportedly been recruited by the Sri Lankan police force at a ceremony near Colombo.

Currently, only a few thousand Tamils are a part of Sri Lanka's 86,000-strong police force.

The BBC quoted one of the new constables as saying that the move would help bridging the gap between the Tamil community and the police in the northern areas of the country.

"Since we are from the same Tamil community I hope people will trust us. We will be able to improve the relationship between the community and the police," he added.

The move is part of a drive to improve relations between Tamils, the minority ethnicity in the country, and the majority Sinhalese after the defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009, the report said.

Meanwhile, police spokesperson Prishantha Jayakody said that they are aiming to induct over 2,500 Tamils in to the force.

"We are planning to recruit women sub-inspector level officers from the Tamil community," he added.

He further assured that once they enter active service, most of the officers, who largely come from the northern provinces, would be deployed in Tamil speaking areas of the country. (ANI)