SRI LANKA: Innocent pedestrians fired on by Police in broad daylight at Veyangoda

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about the extra-judicial attempt to kill Mr. Jayalath Pedige Udaya Samantha Sooriyakumara (31), Devala Kanda, Dorawaka a resident of Warakapola Police Division in Kegalle District. At 5:30 p.m. 15 August 2017, Samantha was walking along with his mother. On the flyover at Veyangoda, on the road from Minuwangoda to Nittambuwa, he was shot by a team of Police Officers. The victim was unaware of the police team near him. He was immediately brought and admitted to the Wathupitiwala Base Hospital for assessment and urgent medical care. Later, Police issued a communique stating that the victim was innocent. They were in the process of arresting another suspected person in a money swindle case. No investigation has yet been carried out regarding the attempt on his life by Police Officers. Samantha and concerned parties stated that the Police are reluctant to investigate cases where its own officers have been seriously involved in committing crimes against the public.
THEY DEMAND JUSTICE.

CASE NARRATIVE:

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information about Mr. Jayalath Pedige Udaya Samantha Sooriyakumara (31), Devala Kanda, Dorawaka, Warakapola, in the Kegalle District.

At 5:30 p.m. on 15 August 2017, Samantha was in the street with his mother. They were walking on the flyover at Veyangoda in the Veyangoda Police Division. They were along the main road from Minuwangoda to Nittambuwa. Suddenly he felt that he had been shot and fell to the ground. It appears that the bullets came from Police Officers in a moving jeep on the public road. His mother immediately started to scream, pleading for help to protect her son’s life.

Police Officers after continuously firing, then approached them. The mother opposed the Police, accusing them of shooting her son, knowing he was innocent. She cried stating that her son had never committed any crime in his entire life. She asked the Officers to help her take her son to the emergency room at the nearest hospital.

Samantha was taken to the Wathupitiwala Basic Hospital and admitted to the Emergency Unit for treatment. The victim had to face several surgeries in the hospital.

Later, Police issued the following communiqué. A team of Police Officers, attached to the Crime Investigation Unit of the Kalmunai Headquarters Police Station, were in the process of arresting a person to be investigated on a money swindle case. Police knew that the aforesaid suspect was traveling in a car with his wife. So, they fired on a vehicle and hit an innocent pedestrian in the way.

Concerned parties raised the question about the legality of the duty the Police Officers were executing, 250 Km from their Division. It caught the attention of the general public. How did the suspected Officers engage in an arrest process, without proper authorization of the Divisional Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP); how did the Police Officers use fire arms to shoot and arrest a suspect who was only needed for an investigation on a financial-related crime which the Criminal Procedure Code expressly prohibited; how could Police Officers intensively shoot into a highly congested public road where hundreds of people were passing by; who was the Commanding Officer who authorized his Officers to shoot.

The victim and his family members believe that Police, mercilessly firing on their relatives, are guilty of attempted murder under Criminal Law. Police have accepted the firing and the responsibility for the firing. They have not yet arrested the responsible Police Officers who did the indiscriminate shooting and have not yet made any successful attempt to investigate the crime.

The relatives referred to the following points in the Criminal Procedure Code of Sri Lanka. It is the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Veyangoda Police Station, who is responsible for investigating, arresting suspects, reporting the facts and producing suspects in the Magistrate’s Courts. The OIC has failed to fulfill his duties under the Law. The victim was denied justice.
HE DEMANDS JUSTICE.

Samantha’s family maintains that the Police attempted to extra-judicially kill their relative. This is another indication of the faulty Policing System in Sri Lanka. It extra-judicially kills innocent suspects under the guise of crime prevention.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

The Asian Human Rights Commission has reported numerous cases of arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and extrajudicial killings of citizens at the hands of the Sri Lankan Police. Under International and Local Law, these are all illegal actions. They have been taking place daily at Police stations all over Sri Lanka. It is common knowledge that the Police use torture as an instrument to terrorize innocent people, harass the general public and instill fear. Presently, the Police are implementing a policy of ‘elimination with extreme persuasion’ or in plain language–murdering suspected criminals. They arrest and kill people without their ever being produced in a Court of Law.

Needless to say, there is a lack of protection for those lawyers willing to take up cases against abusive Police Officers and State Authorities. This means that the Law continues to be employed as a tool by the Authorities to control the population. By undermining society’s respect for the Law and allowing impunity to go on unabated, a long-term, psychological and financial burden is placed on the shoulders of victims, their families and society in general.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the Authorities listed below expressing your concern about this case. Kindly request an immediate investigation into allegations of an attempted extra-judicial killing by the Police. Prosecution of those proven to be responsible under Criminal Law is imperative. The officers involved should also be subject to an internal investigation for breach of Police Departmental Orders. The AHRC will write a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions in this regard.

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