Police deny UNP/JVP allegations of assault

Sarath MALALASEKERA

The Police yesterday totally denied the allegations made by the UNP and JVP protesters that they were assaulted by the Police who were on duty during their protest campaigns against the government in Colombo recently, said Colombo Division Deputy Inspector General of Police Anura Senanayake addressing a media conference held yesterday evening at the Colombo Headquarters.

Colombo District Senior SP Macky Perera and the Police Media Spokesman SP Ajith Rohana also participated in the media conference with Colombo DIG Anura Senanayake

The UNP and the JVP protesters criticise and blame the Police, that the Police assaulted the protesters while they were conducting the protest campaigns peacefully. “This is utterly false, the police never interfered with the protest campaign. What the Police said was not to break the law and create problems to the public and not to damage public property, DIG Senanayake said.

Explaining the situation on the day in question the Colombo DIG said that the JVP had planned to come to Pettah from the Maligakanda area. At that time the UNP protest campaign was near the Fort Railway Station.

The Senior Police officers who were on duty told the JVP not come towards the Fort area as the UNP was holding their protest in the Fort area and requested them to proceed to the Lipton roundabout or to the Technical College area. At that time the protesters threw stones at the Police. To control the crowd the Police had to employ minimum force by using tear gas. At the UNP rally, while the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was speaking some of the UNP protesters who participated in the protest campaign damaged the President’s cut-out opposite the railway station.

Later the protesters attempted to damage public property and to create problems for the public. Therefore the Police had to use tear gas to control the situation. Colombo DIG Anura Senanayake said that the police personnel on duty during the two UNP and JVP protest campaigns never used forced on any of the protesters and never used any weapons during the campaign. When the Police appealed to the protesters to conduct their protest campaign peacefully, they threw stones and other missiles at the Police. Several Police personnel were injured from stones which were hurled at the Police who were on duty, the Colombo DIG added.