SC moved against police assault on 14-yr-old

By Chitra Weerarathne

(August 13, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Chandani Sudasinghe of Meegoda, has petitioned the Supreme Court that her son Jeewantha Ranasinghe, was brutally assaulted, while in police custody, between July 7 and 9, 2009.

Jeewantha was arrested by officers of the Nawagamuwa police station on a complaint made by a relative of a Pradeshya Sabha member named Suresh Priyadarshana of Kaduwela.

The petition explained that Jeewantha had been arrested first on June 22, 2009. Two or three days later, he was produced before the Magistrate and bailed out. Later, on the second occasion, Jeewantha was arrested on July 7, 2009 and bailed out on July 9, 2009. The Kaduwela police had not given a reason for his arrest. He was held in unlawful police custody from July 7 to July 9, 2009.

The petition said that, while in police custody, Jeewantha had been assaulted. He had received treatment at the National Hospitals for a pain in the head.

The petition requested the Court to direct the JMO to submit to Court for perusal the report of the JMO, in respect of the medical examination done on Jeewantha.

The petitioner mother, had requested compensation in Rs. 02 Million from the respondent police officer for the violation of Jeewantha’s fundamental rights.

The petition alleged that on June 22, 2009, the date on which Jeewantha was first taken into police custody, the Pradeshiya Sabha member had come with a few other persons in a vehicle which belonged to the PC member and taken Jeewantha to the police station, on the pretext of having to record a statement on a complaint against him.

Jeewantha is a grade 9 student of Godagama Subartha Maha Vidyalaya of Meegoda. The complaint had been made by the mother of a grade ten student of the same school. The grade 10 student is Imila Danasinghe. The two boys had not been on good term, according to the petition.

Source: The Island

-Sri Lanka Guardian