SRI LANKA: Assault and fabrication of charges by the Poddala Police 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has come to learn of a case involving the fabricated charges of a man, owing to the line of work he is engaged in. Though the police have charged the victim with possessing ganja (marijuana), he maintains that he was charged because of the illicit mining conducted by his employer who frequently has to bribe the police to continue in their activities. Though the victim is out on bail, he is still facing serious charges which is entirely unacceptable given that they are fabricated.

On 8 February 2006, at about 7pm, Damith Kumara had stopped at a three-wheel park to chat with a friend. At that time, the Poddala police OIC together with another policeman—both in civvies—approached in a jeep. The OIC alighted from the jeep and shouted, “You two, come here immediately”. Both Mr. Kumara and his friend walked up to the OIC.

As they drew near, the OIC slapped both men hard across their faces. They were then forced into the jeep and taken to the Poddala police station. Neither was informed about the reasons for their arrest. At the station they were taken to the OIC’s room. He consulted a piece of paper and asked their names. When they told him their names, he said Mr. Kumara’s name was on the list and instructed the policemen to detain Mr. Kumara and release his friend.

The OIC proceeded to assault and harass Mr. Kumara. He then instructed another policeman to ‘book Mr. Kumara for drugs’. Mr. Kumara was then locked in a holding cell. Although he repeatedly requested to know what the charges were against him, the police refused to tell him. The next day at about 8am a policeman entered the cell with an envelope and demanded that Mr. Kumara put his fingerprint on the cover. Mr. Kumara complied due to fear. Then, at about 11am, he was produced before the Galle Magistrate’s Court and it was only there he discovered that he had been charged with possessing ganja (marijuana) and fabricated case No. 65617 had been laid against him. However, despite being terrified, Mr. Kumara insisted on pleading not guilty to the charges filed against him and accordingly was released on bail.

According to Mr. Kumara, his mother is ailing and thus he is forced to work for a sand mining mudalali (businessman)—one of the few casual jobs available in his home town. It is noteworthy that the businessmen obtain a license to mine for sand several days a week but in reality, they engage in illicit mining throughout the week. This is often done in collusion with the area police who are heavily bribed to ‘look the other side’. However every once in a while, the police arrest a worker, produce him in court and fine him—the fine being paid by the owner. But the businessman is never arrested and the illicit activity continues unabated. Sometimes, the businessman is required to ‘give a case’ to the police, i.e. send a worker to the police to be charged, plead guilty before court and to pay the requisite fine. This way, the police ensure they are not pulled up by superiors for ‘not taking action’ against illegal activities.

According to Mr. Kumara, though the police had on several occasions attempted to arrest him, he had always managed to evade this. Even his employer had not requested him to go to the police ‘with a case’. He therefore believes that the police fabricated the ‘ganja charge’ against him in order to somehow ‘teach him a lesson’.

Mr. Kumara urges that the authorities take immediate action against the Poddala police and ensure that the fabricated charges against him are withdrawn and that he is not further harassed. He also urges that immediate disciplinary and legal action be taken against the errant policemen.

Janasansadaya, the human rights organisation who is currently assisting Mr. Kumara has already notified the Human Rights Commission, the National Police Commission, the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General about this shameful incident and hope that these institutions take necessary action to ensure that justice is done.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the relevant authorities listed below seeking their intervention in ensuring that the fabricated charges laid against the victim are withdrawn. Legal and disciplinary legal action should be taken against those police officers who laid the charges or were in anyway involved in this incident.

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