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Justice delayed but not denied clears blind masseur of operating a brothel
A veteran blind masseur whom the police tried with false charges of running a brothel, and was cleared of the charges by Court, said that, despite a legal battle that lasted more than three years and cost him thousands of rupees in legal fees, he was confident the truth would prevail in the end.
Mr. Navaratna happy that the ordeal is over. Pic by Athula Devapriya
E.M. Navaratna (82) and eight employees of the Ratna Ayurveda Massage Centre down Adam’s Avenue in Colombo, which has been operation since 1958, were recently cleared by Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage, of the charge of running a brothel in the guise of a medical centre.
The charges were filed by the Kollupitya Police in 2011, but the magistrate said there was no evidence to support such an allegation. The magistrate also faulted the Police for carrying out the raid on the Centre in a wrongful manner, and for failing to deploy decoys as should be done in such cases.
Mr. Navaratna told the Sunday Times he feels “vindicated” by the Court ruling.
“I was always confident that the truth would prevail in the end, but being wrongfully charged in this way took a toll on me. The clients never stopped coming for treatment, but it was very stressful for me to go to Court along with all the employees, every time the case was taken up,” said Mr. Navaratna who has been blind from around the age of eight.
It was also a humiliating experience for a man whose clientele included former Prime Minister Sir John Kotelawala, who was so impressed with Mr. Navaratna’s skills as a physiotherapist, that he gifted him the premises for the clinic. “It was a degrading experience for me and has made me weak. I run a legitimate medical centre where people are treated for many medical conditions such as frozen shoulder, rheumatism, muscular ailments etc. I pay income tax and make all the provident fund payments for all my employees,” Mr. Navaratna said.
The ordeal for Mr. Navaratna and his employees began when he was told by the Kollupitiya Police that he was being charged for running a brothel, but refused to tell him how the Police had come to that conclusion. However, it was hinted that the charge was based on some anonymous petitions the had Police received. Thus began a legal ordeal that lasted more than three-and-a-half years.
Mr. Navaratna who has served as the President of the Sri Lanka Federation for the Visually Handicapped for more than 10 years, said that, when the Magistrate gave the ruling, he instinctively put his hands together and worshipped him. “I was in the dock meant for the accused. As soon as I heard him saying my employees and I were not guilty, I put my hands together and bowed. I am not sure if he 
saw me,” Mr. Navaratna recalled.
He said the proliferation of massage parlours in the country, some of which are used for nefarious activities, and not for genuine medical treatment, was why people have begun looking at such centres with suspicion.
Mr. Navaratna said that, with the increase in the number of visually handicapped people in the country due to injuries caused by terrorist activities, during the past 30 years, more concerted plans must be put in place to train such persons in physiotherapy, a profession the blind can learn and practice with dignity.
“There are many things that need to be done for the welfare of the visually handicapped,” he said.
Though it was an ordeal, Mr. Navaratna is thankful that in his case justice delayed was not justice denied.