President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday gave strict instructions to Police not to allow any room for leasing companies to engage in unlawful and violent activities. President Rajapaksa has pointed out that under the package of concessions offered to the public affected with the spread of COVID -19, recovery of leasing installments from three-wheeler owners was suspended for six months. This was clearly stated in the Section 2 of the Circular 16/2020 issued on March 23 under the signature of the Secretary to the President.
“In this context, seizing of vehicles for not paying the installments is a breach of the Government order,” the President has told Acting IGP Chandana Wickremaratne. The President thus informed the Police not to allow vehicles to be seized on the ground of non-payment of installments.
“As the methods adopted by the leasing companies to seize vehicles of those who had failed to pay their loan installments is unlawful, no room should be left to continue this practice,” President Rajapaksa ordered the Acting IGP.
Leasing companies do not inform the Police prior to such seizing of vehicles. They lodge complaints only after taking over the vehicle. This kind of forceful action sometimes leads to grave violence. As such, the President instructed the Acting IGP Chandana Wickremaratne not to entertain complaints received from the leasing companies after seizing.
This follows several recent incidents where leasing company representatives had behaved violently. In the latest incident, the Chairman of the Self Employed Three-Wheeler Operators Association Sunil Jayawardena (53) was allegedly brutally attacked by representatives of an unauthorized leasing company in Mirihana, following which he succumbed to his injuries.
He had apparently gone there to renegotiate the leasing payments for a three wheeler on behalf a relative. Eight suspects have been remanded in this connection. Mirihana Police are investigating further.
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