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Colombo (News 1st); President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered Sri Lanka Police to clampdown on illegal activities of leasing companies in the country.
A statement from the President's Media Division said the President ordered police not to allow the illegal repossession or seizing of vehicles based on the inability to settle lease installments.
The statement notes, leasing companies do not inform police before seizing a vehicle and they only file a complaint with police after a vehicle is repossessed or seized by them.
It adds such acts of force lead to acts of violence, and the President instructed the Acting Inspector General of Police not to accept or entertain any complaints made after a vehicle is repossessed or seized by leasing companies until further notice.
The PMD statement notes, the second sentence in circular 16/2020 issued on the 23rd of March clearly states the lease installments of three-wheeler drivers were suspended for a period of three months as part of the government's plan to provide relief to vulnerable groups in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The President had noted repossessing or seizing vehicles in such a backdrop is a direct violation of the Government's directive.