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Questions mount over police arrest procedures in wake of recent deaths
The case of a youth who died while allegedly trying to evade arrest by police has again raised concerns over the apparent failure of officers to follow basic procedure.
Kataragama: A police shooting claimed the life of 25-year-old Niroshan. Pic by Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi
When the body of 20-year-old Nalinda Kasun was found in a Piliyandala canal on February 17, angry relatives and area residents blamed the Kahathuduwa Police for his death. According to a friend of Kasun, he had allegedly jumped into the canal from a bridge in fear after two policemen in civvies had tried to arrest him. Kasun’s friend was arrested by the police for the possession of drugs. The arresting officers, however, had allegedly taken the friend to the police station without checking on what happened to Kasun. They had also allegedly failed to report to their OIC or any other senior officer that a second person aside from the one arrested had been present at the time and had jumped into the water.
Following public outrage after the discovery of Kasun’s body, the two officers involved in the incident — a sergeant and a constable — were ordered to be transferred with immediate effect. This order has now been revoked and the transfers suspended pending the conclusion of a magisterial inquiry into the incident.
Police Spokesman Superintendent of Police (SP) Ruwan Gunasekara said the victim’s death was not the direct result of any use of force by police. Nevertheless, questions have arisen over whether the officers followed proper procedure, he acknowledged. “If the magisterial inquiry reveals any wrongdoing on the part of the officers, they will be severely dealt with,” he assured.
Kasun’s death comes barely a month after 25-year-old Pathiranalage Niroshan was shot and killed by a policeman in Kataragama. Niroshan, a father of one, had been on his way home on a motorbike on the night of January 20 when police had allegedly flagged him down using a torch. Niroshan’s friend Nuwan Buddhika, who was the pillion rider, had insisted that Niroshan had stopped the motorbike only a few metres away from the spot from where a torchlight had been shone on them. They were just starting to get down from the motorbike when two shots were fired at them, one of which struck Niroshan in the back of the head. He was pronounced dead after being admitted to hospital.
The incident caused violent protests with more than 50 people being arrested. The police officer who had allegedly fired the fatal shots was also subsequently arrested and is currently in remand custody. He was last produced in court on February 20, where he was further remanded till March 6. The suspect though, was admitted to the Hambantota hospital on Thursday (22) after allegedly being assaulted inside the prison. He is due to be produced before the Judicial Medical Officer for an examination.
The Kataragama incident was far more clear-cut in terms of wrongdoing on the part of the police, SP Gunasekara said. “The fundamentals of using justifiable force is something ingrained into police officers from basic training to degree and postgraduate level,” he stressed, adding that in this case, these fundamentals clearly appear to have been ignored. He insisted there were no inadequacies in police training for officers regarding the use of force and procedure in arresting suspects. “There are 85, 000 police officers in the force. The actions of a few officers does not mean the entire training process is at fault.”
The laws governing arrest of suspects are defined clearly in the Criminal Procedure Code and the Evidence Ordinance, Dr Prathiba Mahanamahewa, Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, pointed out. Even before an arrest, police need to conduct an investigation, gather prima facie evidence and draft a charge sheet. There must be grounds for reasonable suspicion. In the case of the Kahathuduwa incident, it is clear that proper procedures were not followed, he observed.
The fundamental rights of an individual enshrined in the Constitution, including their right to not be subjected to torture, are also being violated in such instances, he added. Dr Mahanamahewa said if the conduct of the officers involved had frightened the victim into jumping into the canal, their actions amounted to “indirect torture.”
Sri Lanka started implementing the United Nations Convention on the Prevention of Torture in 1994, and these recent incidents indicate that the convention is not being respected in the country, he further opined.
He blamed institutions such as the National Police Commission (NPC) and the Human Rights Commission (HRC) for not playing a more proactive role in such instances. “They are supposed to be independent commissions under the 19th Amendment. Calling for reports from the Inspector General of Police regarding such cases is not enough.”
Human Rights Commission Member and President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris though, insisted the Commission is active, looking into such cases and making recommendations to the relevant institutions. One of the main recommendations that the Commission has made to the Ministry of Law and Order in recent times is to establish a special police unit to probe into cases of alleged police torture and deaths in police custody. Rather than handing over an investigation of such nature to local police, the presence of such a police unit would ensure the conduct of a more independent probe, he stated. Mr Peiris however, pointed out that it was up to the authorities to implement their recommendations.
Unless there is a public complaint or if a particular incident is exposed through the media, the National Police Commission (NPC) cannot initiate an inquiry into all such incidents, Ariyadasa Cooray, NPC Secretary told the Sunday Times. “There are 489 police stations in the country and we cannot probe every single issue in them,” he pointed out. If a magisterial inquiry into the incident is being held, there is no point of the NPC getting involved anyway. It will however, probe other aspects, such as the role of senior officers and related technical issues, he stressed.
Additional reporting by Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi in Hambantota