SRI LANKA: A pregnant woman and her husband brutally assaulted by the Rathgama police 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding a brutal torture of a young couple, namely Mr. D. Indika Wasantha and Mrs. Kumudini Malkanthi, by the Rathgama police on 16 February 2006. It is alarming that the police did not hesitate to assault the eight months pregnant woman, who was on her way to hospital at the time to meet with a doctor. Ms. Malkanthi was in a serious condition and there is a possibility that the unborn child may have suffered from irreparable damage due to the assault. It is alleged that the couple was arbitrarily taken into custody and assaulted by the police due to the husband’s refusal to lend his vehicle to the police a few days before the incident. Despite their complaints to the Galle police, no arrest has been made against the alleged perpetrators.

At around 5:30pm on 16 February 2006, D. Indika Wasantha left his house in Owakanda, Rathgama to take his eight months pregnant wife, Kumudini Malkanthi, to a doctor as she was complaining of severe abdominal pains. However, they were caught in rush hour traffic jam. When his vehicle slowly approached near the Rathgama Police Station, Inspector of Police (IP) Jayarathne, who was standing in front of the station, shouted loudly at Mr. Wasantha, “Ado(‘Hey you)!”. When Mr. Wasantha stopped his vehicle, IP Jayarathne ordered him to drive his vehicle into the police station premises. When Mr. Wasantha inquired into the reason for this, the IP only replied, “you will find out inside the police station.” Even though Mrs. Malkanthi asked the IP to allow them to go because they were rushing to see a doctor, the IP refused to listen to her.

When Mr. Wasantha drove his vehicle into the police station premises, IP Jayarathne called out to his colleagues, including Police Constable (PC) No 63063 and five others (four in uniform and one in civilian clothes), to come outside.  Immediately PC No. 63063 slapped Mr. Wasantha’s face without saying a word. Seeing that her husband was bleeding from his lip, Mrs. Malkanthi begged the PC not to assault him. Again, she explained that they were rushing to the hospital as she had severe abdominal pains and begged the policemen to let them go. Instead, IP Jayarathne verbally abused her in filthy, degrading and humiliating language.

Mr. Wasantha could not bear the verbal insult on his wife and alighted from his vehicle. Six or seven policemen then immediately pounced on him and brutally assaulted him with their fists and boots. When Mrs. Malkanthi tried to shield her husband, the policemen also beat her body, including her abdomen. She finally fell unconscious. But the policemen did not even attempt to take her to the hospital and continued to beat Mr. Wasantha.

Meanwhile, several villagers gathered outside the police station and saw the incident. They shouted at the police to stop assaulting Mr. Wasantha and his wife and urged them to allow Ms. Malkanthi to be taken to hospital. However, the policemen did not listen to the villagers and attempted to drag the injured Mr. Wasantha into the station. The villagers then prevented the police from doing so and helped Mr. Wasantha and his wife to leave for the hospital.

On the same day (February 16), both Mr. Wasantha and Mrs. Malkanthi were admitted to the Karapitiya Hospital. The doctors, who examined the wife, said that she was in a very serious condition and may be in risk of losing her child. She was later transferred to the Mahamodara Hospital where she was treated for four days. Mr. Wasantha was also hospitalised for two days. Ms. Malkanthi was to give birth in April but the doctors informed her that the due to the assault she is to return to the hospital in March to deliver the baby by caesarean section. The couple fear that their unborn child may have suffered from irreparable damage due to the brutal assault by the Rathgama police.

The couple subsequently complained about the incident to both the hospital authorities and the Galle police, who visited them in hospital to obtain their statement. However, no serious action has yet been taken by the police to investigate the incident and the alleged perpetrators are still at large. Mr. Wasantha claims that the reason for the assault on him and his wife is that he refused IP Jayarathne’s request to lend his vehicle to the policemen, who wanted to use it to attend a wedding function, a few days before the incident. He believes that the incident was in revenge for his refusal.

Sri Lankan police have been notorious for their brutality including arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of innocent people for a long time. The situation is all the more alarming as the National Police Commission (NPC), which was given power of disciplinary control over the police by way of the 17th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, has not functioned since last November 2005 after its mandate finished. However, instead of appointing new commissioners to the NPC, the Sri Lankan government has been delaying this process and meanwhile several senior government officials have openly said that the NPC’s power should be transferred to the Inspector General of Police (IPC). This, however, is totally against the objective of the amended constitution. To learn details of this issue, please refer to the following AHRC statements: AS-131-2005, AS-001-2006, AS-003-2006 and AS-24-2006.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities listed below and urge them to launch an immediate and thorough investigation into this case and take action to arrest and prosecute the alleged perpetrators as soon as possible. Please also urge them to suspend the concerned officers or transfer them to another region for the security of the victims while the investigation is going on, and provide adequate compensation to the victims. Please also urge the Sri Lankan government to take immediate steps to appoint new commissioners to the NPC in accordance with the 17th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution.

 

 

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER