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No statement yet from Minister Jayalath J’s son
Police are yet to record a statement of Minister Jayalath Jayawardene's son who is allegedly involved in the assault of a police constable near a leading girls' school in Colombo on Thursday night. The constable is being treated at the police hospital for an ear injury.

Cinnamon Gardens police said they had sent a message for the Minister's son to call over at the police station, but he had failed to do so until last afternoon. Police Chief T.E. Anandarajah said he had given instructions for the arrest of the offenders as it was a serious case where a police officer had been attacked while on duty.

The incident occurred after the constable who was deployed outside St. Bridget's Convent prevented a group of young persons from writing obscene words on the school wall.

Prompt action not taken, dead driver's family claims
By Hisham Hilaly
The family of a 23-year-old van driver whose body was found in the Kelani Ganga near the Kelani Bridge is calling for a full inquiry into his death. The relatives have accused the police of not taking prompt action which if done could have prevented the killing of the driver identified as M.Z.M. Rizly.

According to family members, Rizly had informed his home at around 3.30 p.m on July 15 that he was going to Ratnapura on a drop hire. However, he had not turned up even the next morning. Thereafter the relatives had gone to the Keselwatte police station to lodge an entry but the police had refused to record it since the OIC was not in.

Later when they went again the police had recorded the entry, not the way they had reported but in the way the police officer wanted to, the relatives claimed.
Villagers had started searching for Rizly by the afternoon of July 16. The relatives had once again gone to the police requesting them to give a message to police stations island-wide.

Thereafter the officer had promised to do so but not a single police station knew anything about the missing man, relatives claimed. They complained that the Keselwatte Police had not informed even the neighbouring Panadura Police.
Later, on July 17 Kahathuduwa Police had informed the relatives of finding Rizly's T-shirt and slippers.

The following day Bandaragama Police had discovered the van. Both the T-shirt and the vehicle had been found in a unused jungle property 50 acres in extent, belonging to the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, but at two different locations. The Sunday Times learns that this is the 27th killing within this jungle.

However Keselwatte OIC R.M. Prasanna Ratnayake denied all charges and said that he and his officers had done their best. He also said that he had handled many cases like this, which he completed successfully in days and promised to do the same with this too.

"Investigations are continuing and we are getting closer to the suspect", he said.
Relatives still claim that the police did not act fast enough. If they really had the victim could have been saved since the killing had not taken place very far away, they said.

Info centres to alert people to looming
danger in North-EastThe National Bhikkhu Front is to set up information centres in 1500 temples country-wide to inform people of the impending danger in the peace process and the role of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission which the Front describes as a threat to the country.

The Front which has chosen temples in key towns including the North and East is to form groups with the participation of laymen. National Bhikkhu Front Secretary Ven. Kalawagala Chandraloka Thera told The Sunday Times that forming the information centres was a first in a series of campaigns to be held countrywide.

"We decided to form the groups so that we can alert the people. The Government has always taken decisions without consulting the people, even the latest so called interim administration proposals are not known to the people but have been sent to the LTTE. This is a very serious issue. We are also against the role played by the SLMM.

On many occasions the SLMM has favoured the LTTE by ignoring government decisions. Many rulings have been given in favour of the LTTE" he said. The Bhikkhu Front claims that it is not against giving equal status to Tamils or Muslims.

"What we are against is the fact that the Government is giving the LTTE all the powers. The LTTE is not the sole representative of the Tamil people. The interim administration proposals are also providing a way to establish the Eelam state" he said. The Bhikkhu Front is to organize a mass protest in Colombo while similar protests are to be held in several districts.

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