SRI LANKA: Victim dies after being held in police custody in Meegaswela, Koswatte 

SRI LANKA: Arbitrary arrest and detention; Alleged torture; Post-custodial death; Police misconduct; Impunity; Rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the case of A.D. Lalantha Fernando who was illegally arrested and later died after being held in police custody on 10 October 2005 in Meegaswela, Koswatte. Lalantha was allegedly arrested by policemen attached to the Koswatte police station over complaints of a stolen necklace and a dispute between his relatives.

Reports disclosed that Lalantha was forcibly taken from his uncle’s house by the policemen, one of whom was identified as Sub Inspector (SI) Nilanga Perera. When the victim’s family proceeded to the Koswatte police station to report the matter, the police refused to take a report and instead assigned two policemen to try and locate Lalantha. When Lalantha could not be located, the policemen and the family returned to the police station. On arrival S.I. Perera and some of his colleagues also appeared at the station; all of whom were allegedly drunk. S.I. Perera informed the family that they had dropped the victim off in Tunmodera and that they should go there if they wished to collect him. When the family – accompanied by S.I. Perera – arrived at Tunmodera, the victim’s body was soon produced. Though the police were attempting to show that the body was lying semi-conscious on the ground, witnesses maintain that the body in fact was produced from the back of the van that S.I. Perera had traveled there in. Lalantha was then placed in his family’s car who immediately took him to hospital owing to his semi-conscious state and the several injuries he had sustained. Lalantha remained in the National Hospital in Colombo for nine days before succumbing to his injuries and dying on October 19. A post-mortem report concluded that Lalantha died as a result of a blunt instrument force to his head, chest and kidneys.

We request your urgent action in asking the Inspector General of the Police to order the Special Investigations Unit to immediately commence its investigation into Lalantha’s case. Immediate sanctions should be imposed against all alleged perpetrators while the investigation is in progress. If it is found that the alleged perpetrators committed crimes against the victim, they must be indicted under the CAT Act No. 22 of 1994.

Should there be threats against the complainants in the course of seeking redress for grievances, appropriate protection must be afforded by the government to them. The government of Sri Lanka, in particular the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) should also ensure that appropriate compensation is provided to the victim’s family if it is established that the police are guilty of the victim’s death.

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

Name of the victim: A.D. Lalantha Fernando (23), living in Meegaswela, Koswatte
Date and place of incident: 10 October 2005 in Meegaswela, Koswatte
Alleged perpetrators: Sub Inspector Nilanga Perera and other policemen attached to the Koswatte police station

Case details:

On the evening of 10 October 2005, A.D. Lalantha Fernando was forcibly taken from his uncle’s house by two policemen driving a white van (bearing the number 592158). Several of Lalantha’s relatives were present at the house at the time, and therefore witnessed Lalantha being taken by the policemen.

One of the policemen was identified as Sub Inspector (SI) Nilanga Perera.  As it sped off, the vehicle went in the direction of Koswatte.  The victim’s relatives followed immediately after by taking another vehicle.  However, after a considerable search they lost trace of the vehicle and instead proceeded to the Koswatte Police Station to ask for help.

When they reported the incident at the police station, the policemen on duty did not record their complaint but instead assigned two policemen to help them locate the victim. The two officers went with the family to where the abduction took place and all present saw several traces of shoe prints on the ground in front of the victim’s house. The two officers radioed through information to another line and then returned to the station, along with Lalantha’s family.

Shortly after the officers and victim’s family arrived back at the police station, S.I. Perera and several other officers also appeared.  It is alleged that they appeared to be drunk. S.I. Perera inquired as to why the family had come to the police station. When the family informed him that they were looking for Lalantha, he replied that someone may have taken him.  When the family insisted that the victim must be located, they were merely told to register a complaint.

As they were doing so, S.I. Perera is alleged to have said that the victim had been dropped off at a place in Tunmodera.  The family therefore immediately proceeded to Tunmodera, and was accompanied by S.I. Perera, who followed in a police van. On arrival at the area, the family was told by the police to dim their lights, apparently to avoid detection by other criminals present in the area. However, when they did so, suddenly the victim’s body appeared on the ground nearby; it would seem however, that the body actually came directly from the back of S.I. Perera’s police van and was not previously lying on the ground, as the police were trying to suggest.

Lalantha was only semi-conscious and had many injury marks to his body. There were also bloodstains across his shirt. He was placed by the police into his family’s car and was immediately taken to the Marawilla Hospital. He was then transferred to the National Hospital in Colombo where he was placed in the intensive care unit for treatment.

On October 19, Lalantha died while being treated at the hospital.  The Judicial Medical Officer who conducted the post mortem informed the family that the victim had died due to attacks with a blunt instrument to his head, chest and kidneys.  Parts of the body had been sent to medical laboratory for examination.

Lalantha’s death has sparked strong protest amongst the local population and the media. Under heavy pressure S.I. Perera has been transferred out of his station pending enquiries.  The other policemen involved however, have not been charged or sanctioned and have continued to report for duty as per usual.

It was learned that prior to the incident, the family of the uncle of the victim reported to the Koswatte Police to complain about a stolen necklace and dispute over land.  It is alleged that S.I. Perera made an undue suggestion to one of the family members who had gone to the police station for the enquiry, who eventually complained against the Sub Inspector.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the Inspector General of Police voicing the need to properly and independently investigate the death of Lalantha Fernando.

 

 

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