SRI LANKA: Police inaction on torture of a boy by his teacher at the Wellawa Central College 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a reliable source regarding the torture of a 14-year-old boy, Dulash Vimukthi Ranasinghe, by his language teacher, Chandrika, at the Wellawa Central College. On 9 November 2005, Dulash Vimukthi was attending class when his teacher punched him hard on his left eye. Chandrika allegedly vented her wording on the victim after her male students laugh during class.

It was reported that although Dulash Vimukthi was bleeding from his nose and suffering immense pain, he was not taken to the hospital by his teacher. He was instead ignored even until class ended that day. The boy went home with his friends and reported the incident to his father. They then immediately registered a complaint before the Women’s and Children Desk at the Wellawa police station.

The victim was confined to the Kurunegala Teaching hospital for four days with a badly swollen left eye. Even though policemen at Wellawa police station and Kurunegala Teaching hospital recorded the incident, the case has not been properly investigated. No sanction has been taken against the concerned teacher. There are also reports that political pressure is being used maybe to conceal the incident.

We urge your strong intervention to pressure the concerned authorities in Sri Lanka, in particular the Inspector General of the Police (IGP) in order to ensure that an independent investigation in this case is conducted. If the allegations are true that attempts have been made to conceal the incident, sanctions against those responsible must be imposed and a special investigating unit must be created to handle the case. Once an investigation has begun, the teacher involved must be suspended from duty so that she may not influence the investigation and further intimidate the victim. School authorities must ensure that the victim’s schooling is not hampered nor that he be intimidated as a result of the investigation.

If the allegations of torture are found to be true, the perpetrator must be indicted for a violation of the Convention against Torture Act No. 22 of 1994. She must also be met with administrative sanctions for the violation of the existing Circular issued by the Education Department on 11 May 2005, which prohibits the use of physical punishment and assault on school children.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Dulash Vimukthi Ranasinghe (14), grade 8A student of the Wellawa Central College, Wellawa, Kurunegala District
Alleged perpetrator: Tamil language teacher named Chandrika
Name of police officer and their station: Sub Inspector Podi Menike of the Women’s and Children’s Desk attached to the Wellawa police station, hospital police at the the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital
Date of incident: 9 November 2005

Details of the case:

The victim, Dulash Vimukthi Ranasinghe (14), is a grade eight student at the Wellawa Central College. He had been studying at this school since grade one.

On 9 November 2005, the victim attended his Tamil language class – which was the final class of the day. His teacher, Chandrika, made a comment that made all the boys in the class laugh aloud. The teacher became extremely angry at this and reached out to the victim, Dulash Vimukthi, as well as two of his friends who were at the time sitting at the front row. She then pulled him forward by his right ear, clenched her fists and punched him hard on his left eye.

The force of the blow caused the boy to bleed from his nose. He was in immense pain and began to cry. Despite this, the teacher ignored him and walked away even after the class ended. Since the victim was bleeding, one of his friends took him on a bicycle to his father’s house at about 2.15 pm. His father noticed that there were scratch marks and blood on his ear.

The victim’s father immediately took him to the Wellawa police station where they reported the incident to a female sub inspector, Podi Menike, who is attached to the Women’s and Children’s Desk. She then instructed them to proceed to the Hospital for medical treatment. The boy was then taken to the Wellawa Government Hospital where he was examined by a doctor. They were then told that the hospital did not have adequate equipment for his treatment. They suggested that he be transferred to the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital by an ambulance.

At the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital, the victim had to be confined for treatment for four days. At this time, the hospital police proceed on recording the statement from the victim. He was also examined by the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO). After he was discharge, he was instructed to attend clinics at the hospital.

Despite the initial interest shown by the police, the father received information that there was an attempt to conceal the incident due to political pressure.

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SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send a letter to the Inspector General of the Police (IGP) asking him to ensure that the case is properly investigated. Immediate charges and sanctions must be imposed against the perpetrators if allegations are found to be true. Please also write letters to the Ministry of Education to initiate a separate inquiry into the case.

 

 

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