MediaLK web site reports from Polonnaruwa that a man suffering from mental illness was arrested without any complaint, beaten up, brought to court, and remanded under the ‘Justice’ operation launched by the Sri Lanka Police these days.
A resident of Polonnaruwa Aralagangwila Pimburatthewe was arrested and assaulted by the Aralagangwila police, according tot he family members. However, police sources say that no actios has been taken against the police officers involved in the arrest and torture.
The family members of the tortured person have informed the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, the Ombudsman of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, the National Police Commission, and the Senior Deputy Inspector General of North Central Province in this regard.
It is stated in the complaint made to the Human Rights Commission that the person affected by the incident works at a bicycle repair shop in the area and that he had gone to work in the cycle repair shop on that day. The complaint was made by his brother.
Another brother of the arrested person said that as he was not in the cycle repair shop, he went to look for him and that he saw his brother being beaten by the police on the highway and that the police officers attacked him although he claimed to be receiving treatment for a mental illness.
Accordingly, when the brother went to the police in search of him, the person in question was in the police cell, and he stated that he had been beaten, and at that time his head and knees were injured and blood was flowing’
The brother went to see the OIC of the police and narrated the incident to him. this incident was also mentioned in the complaint made to the Human Rights Commission.
The arrested mentally ill person was not hospitalised for hours, although he was suffering from torture and bleeding. Finally after much persuasion by the family members he was admitted to the Aralagangwila local hospital but he had to transfer to the Polonnaruwa hospital as there was bleeding from his bladder.
While he was in the hospital, the police reported the facts to the court and remanded him for allegedly possession of contraband and only after about 14 days he was granted bail.
Although the victim of the incident and he said that the family has complained to almost all the responsible institutions in this regard, but justice has not been done so far.
( SLB)
Summarized and translated form a Sinhala language news report published in the medialk.com