Crime time

By Leon Berenger and Chris Kamalendran

Criminals appear to be everywhere and during this national New Year they were either directly or indirectly involved in at least 21 killings that were known to the police in various parts of the country.

The most prominent incident to grab the headlines was the killing of 41-year-old Wirantha Fernando, a national cricketer, Deputy Mayor of Moratuwa and Fisheries Minister of the Western Provincial Council. He was done to death in a simple case of road rage that involved two pedal cyclists and his personal driver at his sister-in-law's home in Kurana

A father of two toddlers, Mr. Fernando had earlier in the day motored up to Chilaw to visit a friend at the local hospital. He had dropped his driver at Kurana since his brother-in-law opted to take the wheel for the drive to Chilaw.

On returning to his sister-in-law's house at Kurana shortly before dusk on Friday, Mr. Fernando was confronted with a heated argument between his driver and the two cyclists who were apparently intoxicated.

The police say that Mr. Fernando had then intervened to solve the issue, and together with his driver and rest of the family had entered his relative's home.

However a short while later the two cyclists returned with about 20 people, some of them armed with knives who forcibly broke into the house and began to assault the inmates, including women.

Apparently the chief target of the attack was the Provincial Minister who took the brunt of the attack and fell to the ground in a bloodied mess since he had been severely cut up with sharp instruments and swords.

He was rushed to the hospital where doctors battled to save his life for six days. But on Thursday he succumbed to his injuries and the police began a hunt for his killers.

They have taken four people into custody, but the two prime suspects have apparently gone underground.

On the day prior to Mr. Fernando's killing, two youths whom police described as alleged underworld figures were shot down at point blank range in the heart of Kalutara town.

The incident occurred in broad daylight and in front of dozens of frightened people who were making their way to the Kalutara bodhiya for New Year religious observations.

Investigators later found out that the two victims were themselves notorious underworld operatives responsible for a series of contract killings in the area and the capital. Those responsible for the double murder belonged to a rival outfit who had apparently waited for the dawn of the New Year to draw rival blood.

In another gruesome killing at Dematagoda an aged woman and her daughter were murdered and their limp bodies dumped into a concrete cess pit within the premises.

The motive was robbery, for the killers had taken away Rs. 1.7 million in hard cash. The money was from the sale of a land which belonged to both victims. Two young carpenters were later taken into custody in this connection, police said.

Elsewhere in the country similar killings were also taking place, mainly after arguments among those who had consumed too much liquor and who did not hesitate to pick up brawls over past disputes and the likes.

The scary part is the apparent easy access the criminals have to weapons that include sophisticated firearms, even though police claim that they are maintaining a stricter vigilance on these elements.

Some weapons do fall into the hands of the authorities from time to time, but the police themselves privately admit that this is only the tip of the iceberg. Certain corrupt police officials suspected to be on the take from underworld elements only help to make matters worse.

But the police had a little bit of luck closer to Colombo earlier this week.

A raid on an underworld hideout at Kahatuduwa on Thursday yielded a small cache of arms and explosives, along with some police and security force uniforms. An army deserter and two others were also arrested, police said.

Initial police investigations have revealed that the group had used the uniforms and the weapons in a series of robberies and other criminal activities which are yet to be fully investigated.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Jayantha Wickremaratne was happy with the find at Kahatuduwa, adding that he had planned a series of strikes to cripple the underworld, but stopped short of giving more details for obvious reasons.

He said they were on the trail of several known gangs and that it was only a matter of time before they were netted in.

In a related development a civilian attempt to drive the use and trading of heroin to the ground at a small village in Dehiwala has came under heavy flak with drug barons taking the law into their hands threatening and intimidating innocent civilians.

It all began in early March at a temple down Prathibimbarama Road in Dehiwala when a group of villagers got together to try and arrest the narcotic scourge in their backyard by opening up a treatment centre for addicts free of charge.

Within days the tiny Daham Paasala which was transformed into a makeshift shelter was bursting at its seams with some 107 addicts all determined to kick the habit for good.

Almost all those inside the treatment centre were one-time criminals forced into the underworld just to maintain their expensive habit. Although this treatment centre brought much relief to the parents and the people of the area it nonetheless irked some area drug barons who became increasingly jittery as their sordid trade was receiving a blow.

And then the trouble began.

Some three weeks later an armed gang allegedly cheered on by the drug barons stormed the temple premises only to be met by fierce resistance from the addicts who had by now kicked off the habit.

In the ensuing melee there was gunfire and at least three people including a local underworld boss known only as 'Mole Santha' were hospitalised with gun shot and knife injuries. The camp closed for good and the occupants and organisers soon dispersed fearing the worst.

Now it was time for the police to move in, and this they did, but from the wrong direction.

The local police opted to stay out of the picture although they made a brief appearance and then vanished despite pleas from the organisers to give them some sort of protection.

On the other hand the drug barons did not waste time and quickly alerted their contacts allegedly with police units far away and a man hunt was launched for the organisers who were accused of being gun runners.

One organiser of the rehab camp was soon arrested by plainclothes detectives who did not waste time to show off their muscle by assaulting the man on the street before bundling him into a civilian vehicle and driving off.

The man later confessed, while in police custody of having owned a firearm but that it had been long given to a friend. Two more subsequent arrests finally brought in the gun. But it was not in the possession of the camp organiser as some papers had put it quoting police.

The men who were armed with assault rifles did not even bother to identify themselves and it took relatives several hours to trace the man at a special police unit in the metropolis that is known more for its anti-terrorism drive in the city, and notorious for strong arm tactics.

But this was not all, the drug barons were dropping more names to this so-called special unit and police were buying every single word for reasons perhaps known only to them.

And so the police had turned the heat on the camp organisers who were by this time forced on the run, as they were without protection and the malicious threats continued to rise with information suggesting that the barons were in addition stockpiling weapons and explosives for a possible hit on their wives, children and homes.

It was at this stage that they took the matter up with the Police Chief for the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Division Senior Superintendent (SSP) W.P. Dayaratne who immediately ordered a crackdown on the drug barons.

He brought in a special unit directly under him, keeping the local police out of the scene.

Those who poured out information to SSP Dayaratne alleged that greenbacks had switched hands in several places and that even police officers were on the take by the chief heroin dealer for Dehiwala-Wellawatte.

On Friday morning SSP Dayaratne's special unit moved into action, and in the first swoop two people on the list provided by the informants were arrested along with a haul of cannabis (Ganja). It was only the beginning, with the police poised to carry out more raids in the area.

Meanwhile police allege that a place called the 'Quarters' behind the zoo was a crime den loaded with vice, weapons and explosives.They say they believe that it was from this place that the first attack on the temple was launched, leading to a volatile situation in the area with people living in fear not knowing what to expect next.

In the interest of national security

Police are empowered and are duty bound to maintain and uphold the law of the land. Fundamental Rights enshrined in our constitution is part of our law. The rights guaranteed by the Constitution include protection against torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and illegal arrest and detention. The Police authorities have a dual obligation in this regard. One is to refrain from infringing of Fundamental Rights themselves, and the other, being law enforcement officers, is to see that officers in their charge do not infringe the law in this regard.

Section 15 (7) of the Constitution restricts the exercise and operation of these Rights as may be prescribed by law in the interests of national security and for meeting the just requirements of the general welfare of a democratic society. It has to be noted here that the law restricting the Rights in given circumstances, also prescribes the manner and extent of such restrictions. These restrictions do not in any way give the 'freedom of the wild ass' to the police or other State agencies.

According to reports however, there is a serious threat to democracy and the culture of human rights. State agencies armed with draconian laws are reportedly resorting to illegal arrest and detention; torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment; and unlawful use of force. Deaths in custody, killings in encounters and innocents being killed, by excessive force on the part of the military and the Police, are reported to be on the rise.

A common misconception, or rather an acquired misconception by the Defence authorities appears to be that the restriction of the rights as provided under section 15 (7) removes all the rights laid down by law with regard to arrest and detention and the use of force, once the Public Security Act is promulgated. This is not so. For instance, section 13 (1) of the Constitution clearly lays down that: "No person shall be arrested except according to procedure established by law. Any person arrested shall be informed the reason for his arrest". It is common sense that the "reason" for arrest must include the offence he is reasonably charged with.

The provision of law under which the Defence authorities have tried to take cover for violation of Fundamental Rights is Section 23 of the Public Security Act which states: " No prosecution or other criminal proceeding against any person for any act purporting to be done under any provision of this part or any order made thereunder shall be instituted in any court except by, or with the written sanction of the Attorney General: and no suit, prosecution or other proceeding, civil or criminal, shall lie against any person for any act in good faith done in pursuance or supposed pursuance of any such provision". But when the misconceptions are willingly acquired, in spite of Section 13[1] of the Constitution (which is quoted above), the Defence authorities cannot claim good faith in its actions, and are therefore not entitled to protection under Sec. 23 of the public Security Act, and hence culpable of violating Fundamental Rights.

Now where do the Police stand in this scenario?.

The long and the short of all this is that the Defence authorities, packed with politicians, are misusing the Public Security Act as well as the police, to uphold their personal political interests rather than national security. The need of the country at this hour is, statesmen as opposed to politicians who are more concerned about winning favour or retaining power than about maintaining principles. In fact national security is more endangered the way things are moving.

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