SRI LANKA: Kandy ASP and Nuwara Eliya Headquarters Police Station refuse to investigate abduction of a teenage girl

Dear friends, 

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the 19-year-old daughter of Mr. R.J.K. Niel and his wife Ms. Ajantha Edirisinghe of No: 13, Vijithapura, Magastota, Nuwara Eliya has been abducted by a person on 3 September 2011. When his daughter went missing he made a complaint to the Nuwara Eliya Headquarters Police Station and to the Balagolla Police Station. The first station accepted and recorded the complaint but failed to conduct any investigation. The second station refused to accept the complaint. Mr. Niel then made a complaint to the Assistant Superintendent of Police in Kandy against the inaction of the both police stations. Even then the police refused to investigate the incident on the basis that there were not enough police officers to attend to the matter due to the International Cricket Tournament in Pallekalle Stadium. To-date the parents are seeking the whereabouts of their daughter and waiting to see that justice is done against all the perpetrators. There have been innumerable instances where the Sri Lankan police have failed to carry out their sworn duties and this case is a glaring example as Mr. Niel has been able to identify the suspect, provide details as to his vehicle registration and his place of residence. 

CASE NARRATIVE: 

According to the information received by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Mr. R.J.K. Niel and his wife Ms. Ajantha Edirisinghe of No: 13, Vijithapura, Magastota, Nuwara Eliya are married and the parents of four children, three daughters and a son. 

The eldest daughter, Malathi (not her real name) was a student of Gamini Maha Vidyalaya, Nuwara Eliya. Mr. Niel is working at the Nuwara-Eliya Municipal Council. Malathi was preparing for her university entrance exam (General Certificate Exam- Advance Level) in the science stream. She is an intelligent student and followed tuition classes during the weekend in Kandy. When she went to Kandy for tuition she used to stay with her aunt in Mahawatte – Kundasale at No: 18/3, Mahawatte, Keppetipola Watte. 

Mr. Niel learned from his daughter that a boy by the name of Kamal, a three-wheeler driver was interested in his daughter and had approached her. However, she did not consent to a relationship explaining that that she was a student. Mr. Niel further learned that the license number of Kamal’s three-wheeler is WP QA 7194. 

On the 3 September 2011 his daughter went to her school to sit for her final paper (Sinhala General Paper) and did not return home. Around 2.20 pm Mr. Niel received a telephone call from an unknown person who identified himself as ‘Kamal’ and said that Malathi was with him, and, if possible to save her within an hour. This message implied that the young lady was in danger. 

Mr. Niel immediately went to the Nuwara Eliya Headquarters Police Station, made a complaint and informed the incident to the officers on duty. The officers recorded the complaint with the reference No: W CIB 86/32. The police officers then promised him that they were informing the matter to the Balagolla Police Station to get further assistance to continue the investigation. 

Mr. Niel wanted prompt and urgent intervention from the police officers as he provided all the available details of the suspect and all necessary clues to trace him. Further he explained the danger that his child faced at the hands of the suspect and pleaded with the officers to take immediate action to recover his beloved child. 

The following day, 4 September 2011 Mr. Niel himself went to Kamal’s house in Mahawatte, Kundasale in search of his daughter and Kamal’s father, who was under the influence of liquor, suddenly assaulted him. 

The next day, 5 September 2011 Mr. Niel then went to the Balagolla Police Station to make a further complaint but the police officers refused to accept it and told him that he should go to the Nuwara Eliya Police Station again. 

Mr. Niel then made a complaint to the office of the Assistance Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Kandy on 9 September regarding the inaction of the police officers attached to the Headquarters Police Station of Nuwara Eliya and the illegal action of the officers of the Balagolla Police Station. 

The officers of the ASP’s office again directed him to the Balogolla Police Station. However, the officers at that station told him that because of the cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia being played in the Pallekelle International Stadium there were no police officers available to attend to this. 

The officers clearly gave more importance to a cricket match than they did the safety of a young innocent girl. 

At the time of writing still Mr. Niel and his wife do not know where their child is. Neither the ASP of Kandy nor have the Nuwara Eliya Headquarters Police Station and the Balagolla Police Station have provided any details regarding the progress of their investigation on the complaint he made. Indeed, it is doubtful that any investigation into the abduction of this girl has been initiated. Mr. Niel states that the police officers are intentionally ignoring their legally bound due duty and that his and his wife’s fundamental rights to have the equal protection of the law have been violated by these police officers. He and his wife want their daughter returned safely and justice provided for the agonies they have suffered. 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: 

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has reported innumerable cases of the victims of crimes whose cases have been never accepted and not investigated. In many of these cases victims have face enormous harassment; on several some occasions the witnesses and the victims have been killed by the perpetrators. The AHRC has continuously urged the state of Sri Lanka on the necessity of adopting a witness protection law and implementing a successful witness protection mechanism to verify the smooth running of the rule of law system. 

The state of Sri Lanka is bound to implement the legal provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as it has signed and ratified the convention. Nevertheless the lack of protection offered to those who are willing to take cases against criminals, abusive police officers and state authorities, means that the law is under-utilised continues to be employed as a tool by the police to harass people. This not only takes a long-term toll on the victims and their families, but on society as a whole, by undermining of civilian respect for the law and encouraging impunity. 

SUGGESTED ACTION: 
Please send a letter to the authorities listed below expressing your concern about this case and requesting an immediate investigation into the case abduction. The criminals as well as the police officers who are having lethargic approach to investigate the crimes must also try before the court of law for breaching the laws of the country and also should be subjected to internal investigations for the breach of the department orders as issued by the police department. 

Please note that the AHRC has also written a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on violence against women on this regard. 

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