SRI LANKA: Murder of a man and illegal detention of 26 villagers following an initial shooting by a forestry officer 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding two murders and the subsequent violence that took place in Kirioya, Polonnaruwa district on 17 May 2005. It was reported that a man was shot dead while another was wounded following two separate shooting incidents allegedly perpetrated by forest officers. A forest official was then shot and killed in the violence that followed

The violence erupted when a man, working in a mine at a forest, was shot at by a forestry official. When the local villagers approached the forestry officer to demonstrate against this shooting and the arrest of four other miners, a forestry officer opened fire on the crowd, and killed one of the men. The villagers then proceeded to attack the forestry office, killing one officer and wounding several others.

Following the attack, 26 villagers from Polathu Waadiya, including a father of the murdered labourer and the latter’s 16-year-old son, were also arrested and have been illegally detained without charges since May 17.

We urge your immediate action on this serious matter by asking the relevant authorities in Sri Lanka to initiate an impartial and independent investigation into the murder and the wounding of a laborer. The arrest of four other labourers working in a mine should also be investigated. The filing of charges, arrests and the prosecution of perpetrators must be initiated without delay.

Please ask the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to investigate the illegal detention of the 26 villagers in the absence of any charges. They must be released immediately if there is no legal ground to detain them.

Please also ask the Sri Lankan government to ensure that any further arrest, detention or investigation in relation to this matter be conducted according to law. The villagers must be afforded a fair trial. The families of the dead and the victims must also be provided with assistance and an alternative livelihood means of livelihood.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
————————————————————————-

DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of labourer killed: H.M. Ranasingha Banda (27), 19th mile post, Polathu Wadiya, Atharagallawa
Name of the officer killed: G. H. Dhnasiri (45), assigned at the Polonnaruwa Special Unit for Search and Arrest of the forestry department
Name of wounded victim: S.G. Danapala (44) of Digannawa, Kirioya, Atharagallawa
Name and number of persons illegally detained: Sarath Ekanayaka, the father and the 16-year-old brother of murdered labourer and 23 other villagers
Date and place of incidents: 17 May 2005 at 4:00 to 5:00pm at Kirioya, 21st mile post, in front of the Forestry Office, Polonnaruwa district
Names of alleged perpetrators: Kumarasiri (the officer who shot Banda), Upali and four other persons from the Special Search and Arrest Unit of Polonnaruwa forestry office, Police division of Pallegama

Account of the incident:

On the morning of 17 May 2005, labourer S.E. Danapala and his wife D.A. Roshinie were mining at a forest in Rathu Aara, together with several other miners. Agriculture, brick making and mining is the main source of income for residents in Polathu Wadiya, one of the poorest villages in the area.

Danapala and his wife were on their way back to the mine at around 1:30pm when a person, believed to be from the forest department, carrying a firearm, suddenly approached the couple. The person warned Danapala not to run or he would be shot. Danapala, however, began to run out of fear and was subsequently shot in the left leg. He managed to run despite his injury and asked for help at a house while his wife D. A. Roshinie ran towards the forest.

At this time, the officers from the forest department arrested those persons seen mining in the area. Roshinie then started looking for her husband Danapala in the forest after the officers left, but she could not find him. After Roshinie waited for almost two hours she decided to proceed to Atharagallwa where she was told that that her husband had been taken to Bakmoona hospital.

It was learned that after the shooting, Danapala reached the house of a person called Mahinda about two miles away. The villagers then came to know of the news about the shooting of Danapala and the arrest of the four miners. Relatives of the miners and their neighbours, numbering about 40, immediately headed towards the Kirioya forestry office.

Upon seeing the labourers approaching his office, forestry officer Kumarasiri allegedly loaded his gun and opened fired on them. Twenty-seven-year-old H M. Ranasinghe Banda was hit on the forehead. He was immediately rushed to the Dasgiriya hospital by villagers Dissanayake Kodikara, Rathnayake Kodikara and Sarath Ekanayaka. Banda however, died before getting medical attention. Officers at the hospital then informed those who had taken him to the hospital to take the body to a mortuary at the Pallegama Base Hospital. They then went to the police station to register a statement.

Some of the villagers, who were angered by the murder of Banda, allegedly took turns of attacking the forestry office. The attack resulted in the killing of an officer, identified as G. H. Dhnasiri (45) of the Polonnaruwa Special Unit for Search and Arrest of the forestry department.

Following the incident, 26 villagers from the Polathu Waadiya were arrested and have been illegally detained without charges following their arrest on May 17. Their arrest was over suspicion of involvement in the attack. Among those detained were Mr. Ekanayaka, the father and the 16-year-old brother of the murder victim.

The wounded victim, Danapala, was also reportedly threatened by a forestry officer while confined at the hospital. He was discharged but readmitted to the Hingurakkgoda and later transferred to the Base Hospital in Matale hospital for further treatment. He is now receiving further treatment as an outpatient.

On May 18 at around 4:00pm, magistrate Mr. Jayampathi Rathnadiwakara of Dambulla magistrate conducted an inquest at Pallegama hospital into Banda’s death. He then instructed the transfer of Banda’s body to Kandy hospital for post mortem examination. Relatives then took the body to the said hospital. After the post mortem the body was handed over to the family on May 19.

On May 20, several people took the body to a place where about 2000 people were demonstrating and waiting for any responsible government officer come forward.  The body was finally buried after Mr. Ananda Ratnayake, Minister for the Land and Agriculture of the North Central Province, promised to conduct an impartial inquiry.

————————————————————————-

 

 

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