SRI LANKA: Torture of a young man allegedly prosecuted with false charges by the Pussellawa police

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that 20-year-old Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj was severely tortured by a drunk officer of the Pussellawa Police Station for several hours after being arbitrarily arrested on 23 September 2004. The victim claimed that the police prosecuted him with false charges after taking bribes from a bus owner whose bus was damaged during a protest on June 5 in which the victim had participated. The protest held in Pussellawa, was against the assault of a youth who wrote an article in a local newspaper about exorbitant rates of private buses in the area. At that time, the police randomly recorded about 20 persons including the victim as attackers of the bus.    

However, the victim said that he reported to the Gampola Magistrate Court in June as requested by the police but soon left the place as a police officer in the court informed him that his name was not on the list of attackers. He insists that the police manipulated the warrant against him and arbitrarily arrested him three months after the incident because of bribes from the bus owner. Furthermore, he said that the bus owner was present at the time of his arrest and had offered alcohol to the police officers. 

Your urgent action is required to correct this matter. Please send a letter to the responsible local authorities and urge them to arrest and prosecute the officers responsible for the torture of Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj. An inquiry regarding the allegation of manipulation of a warrant against the victim and police accepting bribes must be conducted as well.   

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj, 20 years old, a machine operator
Current address of the victim: 7B, Arnest Place, Rawathawatta, Moratuwa
Alleged perpetrators:  Officers attached to the Pussellawa Police Station (can be identified by the victim)
Date of arrest and torture: 23 September 2004 
Place of incident: Pussellawa Police Station 

Case details:
 
On 5 June 2004, the villagers of Pussellawa held a protest against an assault by a private bus driver on a youth who wrote an article in a local newspaper on the previous day, alleging how private buses operating in the area benefited from charging villagers exorbitant rates. Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj also participated in the protest. When the Pussellawa police arrived and inquired as to who attacked and damaged the bus during the protest, about 500 protesters replied that they were responsible for that. The police then randomly recorded the names of about 20 people, including Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj out of the 500. After that, the police ordered the 20 people to come to the Gampola Magistrate Court on a certain date (the victim cannot remember the exact date as it happened a long time ago). Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj went to the Gampola Magistrate Court on the requested day, but one police officer there told him that his name was not on the list of the attackers so he could leave. Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj then left the court.  

On June 22, Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj went back to Moratuwa, where he works. On September 23, four officers from the Pussellawa Police Station came to Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj’s workplace and told him that they had a warrant against him regarding the damage of the bus on June 5. Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj explained to the police that he had reported to the Gampola Magistrate Court on the informed date, but had left the court when a police officer told him that his name was not on the list. However, the police ignored him, put him into a private van and took him to the Pussellawa Police Station. Only one officer was wearing uniform among the four officers at that time. 

On the way to the police station, the police officers assaulted Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj inside the van. He found that the private bus owner, whose bus was damaged, was also in the van with the police and saw that the owner bought a bottle of whisky at Kegalle supermarket and gave it to the police officers on the way. As soon as they arrived at the police station at about 9:00pm, Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj was put into a cell.

At about 9:30pm, a police officer in civilian clothes came into the cell and began to assault Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj severely on his buttocks, back and legs with a wooden pole. The officer also ordered the victim to sit down and assaulted him again on his soles and hands while he was holding his knees in a bent position. During the torture, the police officer accused the victim of stealing a CD player from the bus, which he denied. The assault on the victim continued for several hours until 1:00am on 24 September 2004. Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj reported that the police officer was drunk at that time. 

Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj was produced before the Gampola Magistrate on the same day (September 24) at about 5:00pm and was remanded to the Kandy Prison. When the prison officers inquired, at the time of admission, about injuries on his body, Mr. Pushparaj Kanagaraj told them that the Pussellawa police assaulted him, but no treatment was provided to him at the prison. He was released on bail on November 7. The victim said that he still does not know the exact charges against him and alleged that the police arbitrarily arrested him with false charges in order to satisfy the bus owner who bribed them. 

The AHRC is gravely concerned by the torture and false prosecution of the victim by the Pussellawa police. The AHRC urges the local authorities to take legal/disciplinary action against the responsible officers, and inquire into the allegations of manipulation of a warrant against the victim and police bribery with regards to this case.  
 
SUGGESTED ACTION:
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