Angulana tense after shoot-out

Dharma Sri Abeyratne and Suranjith PERERA

Residents of Angulana launched a protest yesterday against Angulana police following the death of two youths who were said to have been arrested by Angulana Police.

The two youths, Dinesh Tharanga and Danushka Udayakantha Aponsu aged 26 and 21 were shot dead on Wednesday night. Their bodies were found yesterday morning in Lunawa and Angulana areas. According to the villagers, the victims are said to have cracked a joke at a woman who has been keeping company with the Officer in Charge (OIC) of Angulana Police station.

When the parents visited the youth, they had been in police custody and the two youths were not shown to their parents, villagers said.

Their bodies were found in two different places in the morning.

These two men were taken into police custody after the woman had complained to the police.

”Angulana police told us that our sons were not taken into police custody when we went to the police. But there were many who have seen our sons being taken into police custody when they were at the school premises,” the mother of one of the victims said. The residents launched a protest against the police and asked authorities to take stern action against the police officers responsible for these killings. Owing to the protest, trains on coastal line were delayed.

The residents stoned the Angulana police station.

The Army intervened to bring the situation under control.

The Mt.Lavinia Magistrate visited the scene and ordered the police to conduct a full inquiry into the deaths.

A full scale inquiry is carried out by three police units which were specially appointed by police headquarters.

The OIC of the Angulana police, T.W. Newton and 6 other police officers attached to the Angulana police have been arrested over the deaths and are to be produced in court later today by the police.

“A Police Inspector and Sub Inspector along with 12 Police Constables have been appointed to the Angulana Police” SSP Ranjith Gunasekara said.