SRI LANKA: Increasing number of crimes in Sri Lanka terrified with another death of woman

Dear friends, 

On 25 September body of Ms. Srini Wasana Amaratunga was found at the Elakanda, Wattala in the Gampaha District. Srini had been missing since the morning of the 24th and her relatives made a complaint to the Negombo police. As is customary, the police took no action until her body was found a police team on patrol attached to the Wattala Police Station. This is a one of a series of cases which have occurred in the last several months where women have been abducted and robbed for their jewellery and money. The Asian Human Rights Commission has observed an increased in the daily occurrence of crimes in every part of the country and the law enforcement agencies are doing nothing to carry out their statutory duties. The lethargic approach of these officers and the undue delays in the judiciary have exasperated the situation to the point where the general public live in constant fear. This case is yet another illustration of the exceptional collapse of the rule of law in the country. 

CASE NARRATIVE: 

According to the information that Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received the body of Ms. Srini Wasana Amaratunga (34) of Daluwakotuwa, Kochchikade, Negombo was found 25 September 2011 at the Elakanda, Wattala in the Gampaha District. 

Her body was a found by a police team attached to the Wattala Police Station around 3 am while they were on patrol on that night. 

Srini was married and a mother of two children. She was a music teacher by profession and worked at the Loyola College, Kochchikade, Negombo. Srini’s husband is employed overseas and she lived with her mother and two children. 

On morning of the 24th Srini left home for Negombo town to pay some bills after having her breakfast with her family. Before she left she told her mother that she need not cook since she would be bringing home lunch. But as did not return home the worried family members made a complaint to the Negombo Police and requested the officers on duty to take all the possible measures to search for her and protect her life. Her colleagues too started their own search. 

Later the victim’s family were informed on the morning of the 25th a team of police officers attached to the Wattala Police Station found the body of a woman from a canal at Elakanda of Wattala Police Division. 

Later Srini’s relatives went to the hospital and indentified her body. According to the police there were no visible external injuries on her body and there was no evidence of her having been raped. However, there were some burn marks around her mouth. According to the government analyst’s department where certain parts of her body was sent for examination it was found that she had died three hours after breakfast. Her earrings, gold bracelet, chain, and two rings were missing. 

In the last two months alone, there have been similar robberies in the Negombo Police Division and other parts of Gampaha and Colombo Districts. The families of the victims have blamed the police for failing to solve any of these crimes. 

Human rights activists believe that a gang of women could very well be behind these crimes but as the police have so far failed to investigate any of these cases this is not confirmed. It is believed the victim’s are followed and then enticed with narcotic drugs before the robberies. The gang act in a systematic method where one group is responsible for befriending and drugging the women and then another given the responsibility of stealing their valuables including gold jewellery before abandoning them in a desolate spot. 

There is more to these incidents than meets the eye and state protection for women and children leave a lot to be desired. In the last two or three months alone, more than a hundred cases of murder, abuse and rape were reported in different parts of the country. 

Laws are aplenty in our country vis-à-vis protection to women and children and religions practiced here profess non-violence but violence has beset our nation since independence and it sees no sense of abating despite having ended a reign of terror for over four decades. 

Srini’s relatives state that even after they made a complaint on the 24th the officers of the Negombo Police Station did not take appropriate measures to undertake a meaningful investigation. 

The AHRC has observed that there is an exceptional collapse of the rule of law in the country. The law enforcement agencies simply turn a blind eye to the situation and forget their statutory duties. The lethargic approach of these officers and the undue delays in judiciary have exasperated the situation to the point where the general public live in constant fear. The relatives of the victim are fear that they will not be able to obtain justice for Srini due to the apathy on the part of the police. 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: 

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has reported innumerable cases of the victims of crimes who 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 efficient and prompt action against crime prevention and implement the rule of law in the country. The AHRC further have stressed 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 and murder. 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 separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteurs on Violence against Women and Independence of Judges and Lawyers on this regard. 

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