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Tears turn to relief
Family members visit the three police officers now detained in Kilinochchi by the LTTE
By N.Dilshath Banu
September 9, will go down as the day that changed the lives of the families of three National Child Protection Authority police officers, whose hunt for a British paedophile took them to the uncleared areas of Mannar and ultimately into the hands of the LTTE.

Reserve Sub Inspector Bandujeewa Bopitigama’s wife Disna was getting ready to watch a teledrama at 9.15 p.m. when she got a call from her husband. He hinted that the situation wasn’t too good and that she should be prepared to hear the worst.

It was not long before that Disna got the news that her husband was among the three policemen apprehended by the LTTE. “When I heard that my husband had been arrested by the LTTE and taken to Kilinochchi I went to different religious places of worship and prayed to all the gods to bring back my husband safely,” said a distraught Disna.

It all began when a team from the NCPA including police officers set out to track down convicted paedophile Michael Geoffrey Smith who had fled from Negombo with five local children to the uncleared areas in Mannar district. It was when trying to negotiate permission from the LTTE to enter into the cleared areas that the four police officers were apprehended. The LTTE had informed the Mannar police that the police officers would be produced in the LTTE courts in Kilinochchi.

After pleading with officials from many NGOs, the ICRC made arrangements for family members of the detained policemen to visit them in Kilinochchi.
Describing their trip to Vavuniya, Kamal, the brother of Inspector Bandujeewa said, “We started our journey at about 8 in the morning, on September 19. An ICRC officer from Colombo accompanied us. We reached Vavuniya at nightfall and the ICRC made arrangements for us to stay the night.

“The next day, we set off early. When we reached the Omanthai Army check point the Army took down our details and let us move into LTTE territory. At the LTTE checkpoint they checked our IDs and asked us the same questions over and over again. After questioning us for more than two hours the LTTE gave us a pass to travel to the next check point. Here an ICRC officer from area joined us and accompanied us for the rest of the journey,” Kamal said.
After passing the next check point, the LTTE law courts, a few banks and a few small hotels, Kamal said they were all asked to get down and were taken along a narrow footpath that ended in a small open area. Here some chairs had been arranged for them.

He said they saw some armed LTTE cadres, some in civvies and some in uniform. A few seconds later, the arrested policemen were brought to the spot.

“I cried when I saw my brother. But he asked me not to cry and that they were being looked after well. He said they were being given good food and that in the evenings the LTTE cadres joined them in play. I was pleasantly surprised that we were allowed to talk to our relatives. I thought I would have to talk to my brother across some barrier but it was quite a different scene that we witnessed.

“My brother was also able to tell me what exactly happened to them on that fateful day,” Kamal said. “The LTTE had asked my brother and the other two policemen to get into a van and after a while they had been asked to get down and get into a boat. Their hands and legs had been tied and they were taken to Thalaimannar by boat. From there they had got into a van which had been driven at high speed to reach Kilinochchi.

“I was able to talk to my brother freely for nearly four hours, and the LTTE treated us with tea and biscuits. I think that the LTTE had understood by then that these policemen had not come to spy on them but to apprehend the paedophile. I believe they will be released soon,” an optimistic Kamal said.
Malani, the wife of Police Constable K.A.D Sarath had also gone to Killinochci along with Sarath’s brother. “ I took him some clothes and his pressure tablets.He told me that he was keeping well. But I was worried because of his high blood pressure. My youngest son, who is four-years-old always inquires about him,” Malani said.

Geetha, the younger sister of Police Constable Dilup Hemantha, who also went to Kilinochchi with her mother said, they got to know about the abduction only two days after the incident.

“We got to know about the abduction only on Sunday after hearing about it on TV. We immediately contacted a colleague who gave us the number to call the Murukkan police.

After speaking to the Officer In Charge we contacted NCPA head Dr. Hiranthi Wijemana who assured us that the policemen would be released When I met Hemantha in Kilinochchi he asked us not to worry that he would be back home soon,” Geetha said.

Meanwhile Dr. Wijemanne told The Sunday Times they were in constant touch with the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission .“We cannot do much until the three policemen are produced in LTTE courts on Tuesday. Until then we have to wait,” she said.

Court awaits reports
Police have recorded statements from two children of the local family with whom the convicted paedophile Michael Geoffrey Smith was staying in Sri Lanka. According to police the children had said that Mr. Smith had kissed them several times. Police said the children appeared to have injuries around their lips. Police also said that Mr. Smith had acknowledged that he had kissed the children several times.

Meanwhile the reports of the medical examination on the children will be submitted to the Magistrate Court on September 30.

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