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| Thursday, 15 May 2003 |
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by Kumar Wethasinghe The Supreme Court granted leave to proceed and fixed the case for argument for July 9 in a rights plea filed by a labourer against the Keselwatte-Panadura police with brutal assault and inhuman treatment. The Bench comprised Justices Mark Fernando, T. B. Weerasuriya and Ameer Ismail. The petitioner K. Nihal Rupasena Silva of Sagara Mawatha, Paiyagala has cited OIC, SI Prasanna Ratnayake, PC Lalith, PC Amarasiri, PC Almeida and Sgt. Palitha all of Keselwatte-Panadura police as the five main respondents and also the IGP, Commissioner General of Prisons and the Attorney General as respondents. The 35-year-old petitioner is a labourer and bread-winner of the family. He has five children. According to the petition, while the petitioner was on a visit to his sister-in-law's house at Kaluwamodera with his family, a police team comprising the first to forth respondents with two others had forcibly entered their premises at midnight and had arrested the petitioner without giving any valid reason. At the time the OIC had threatened to assault him at the police station. When the other occupants of the house asked why they were doing so, they too had been abused in filth. The petitioner had been assaulted on the way to the police station. On the same day at around 10 a.m., the 3rd, 4th and 5th respondents had tortured him by tying his legs together and hanging him from the roof with a nylon wire. Thereafter, the first respondent (SI Prasanna Ratnayake) having thrown chillie powder in his eyes had assaulted him further with a club for nearly 45 minutes. Then they had questioned the petitioner about a house theft in Paraththa. The whole day (July 27) he had been detained in the cell without food and water. On the following day when his wife visited him he could not get up as a result of the torturing. Sgt. Palitha (5th respondent) had given his wife Rs. 20 to bring Siddhalepa balm. She had refused the money and brought Wintogeno and applied on his body. Once more the same respondents had brought him out of the cell and had beaten him with a hose pipe and pole. When his wife brought his lunch on that day he had told her of the assaults. Once they were gone SI Prasanna Ratnayake had manacled his hands and legs and tied him to a table till late night. At dawn on July 30, he was awaken when someone flashed a torch at him. Then he had heard OIC saying, "We dont know whether he is dead or alive", while examining him. On that day P/C, Amarasiri and another person had physically carried the feeble petitioner to the cell when his wife visited him in the morning. On August 1, 2002 Kanishka Wanniarachchi had learnt about the harassment and Mrs. Lalanika Wanniarachchi had telephoned and inquired from the police. As a result on the following day the respondents and another had taken him to the crime branch and assaulted him again. Thereafter, they had also made him sign some documents under threat and duress. Later when he was produced before the Magistrate seven days after his arrest he was sent to the Welikada remand. There he had learnt that strangely the charge made against him was possessing 40mg. of heroin. Also during the seven months between 04.08.2002 to 26.03.2003, he had been produced in court on 21 occasions until the High Court granted him bail. His wife had reported the incidents to the Human Rights Commission. Among other matters he had prayed court for a declaration that his rights granted under Article 11, 13 (1 & 2) had been violated by the police and sought Rs. 500,000 as compensation. Hemantha Situge with Kumar Dunusinghe appeared for the petitioner. State Counsel K. A. P. Ranasinghe appeared for the 6th, 7th and 8th respondents. |
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