FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-140-2010
July 5, 2010
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
SRI LANKA: Indian worker killed by A CID Chief Inspector for refusing to work 16 hours a day
Thenarasu Selvarage was an Indian worker who was brought to Sri Lanka to work as a cook at an Indian restaurant. His body was found in the sea at Palliyamagalpudu Mundalama. Inquiries into the case revealed that a Chief Inspector of the Criminal Investigation Division and a wealthy hotel owner threw the body into the sea. A group of people at the scene witnessed the disposal of the body and informed the emergency services of the police, giving the registration of the vehicle in which the body was transported. Due to this information the two persons were arrested by the police who set up a barricade at Mundalama. Upon their arrest they were found to be a Chief Inspector of Police at the Criminal Investigation Division, Colombo and a hotel owner. The two are being investigated at the moment.
Further investigations have revealed that the victim was brought from India to cook Indian food at the hotel restaurant. After some time, it has been learned, he was asked to work 16 hours a day instead of the 8 hours that he was contracted for. Due to this disagreement there was a conflict between the worker and the hotel owner.
At some point in time the worker wanted to go and see a friend of his whom he had met during an earlier visit to the country and went to take a bus. Later some police officers received a message from the Chief Inspector of the Colombo Criminal Investigation Division that a man wanted in connection with a serious crime was traveling on a bus. The details and description of the worker were given by the Chief Inspector and on the instructions of a superior officer from Colombo he was duly arrested. The CID officer then instructed that the man be brought to Colombo immediately and accordingly he was handed over.
The investigations into the murder revealed that there were blood stains at the house of the hotel owner and the police conducted further investigations which included a DNA test. According to the results of the investigation so far the CID officer and the hotel owner are friends and the investigations are continuing.
This murder reveals several serious problems about the Sri Lankan policing system which human rights groups have been pointing out for a long time. The Criminal Investigation Division in Colombo is one of the most trusted investigation divisions in the country and handles investigations into the most serious crimes in the land. A Chief Inspector of this division being involved in a murder of this sort is a revelation of the extent to which the policing system suffers from serious problems.
Almost daily reports are received on the misbehavior of the police throughout the country. Many of these cases are not investigated at all. Even in this case the extent to which the investigations will be credibly carried out is doubtful.
It was not long ago that a journalist, Prageeth Ekanaliyagoda disappeared. His disappearance has not been investigated and no one had been arrested. His wife and family are of the opinion that the government is involved in his forced disappearance. At the public debate which took place on this disappearance an editor of one newspaper revealed that about 600 similar disappearances had taken place in recent times and that there is a pattern in the dumping of the bodies of these persons after they assassinated.
The Sri Lankan police have been having extremely serious problems relating to law and order. Rampant corruption leads to such crimes as the murder of this restaurant worker. The Inspector General of Police has failed to take any significant action to deal with the widespread lawlessness within the police department.
There are many officers who are willing to carry out their orders and act in accordance with the law. However, due to the mismanagement from the top the system suffers from serious setbacks.
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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
