A case of alleged police assault on a schoolboy suffering from a heart condition has been reported from Vilgamuwa, a village in Matale. The boy concerned is 17-year-old Pradeep Bandara, who is sitting for his Ordinary Level examination this year.
Recounting the events that led up to last week’s alleged police assault. Pradeep’s friend R. G. Roshan Buddhika told The Sunday Times that a minor row had broken out after school between Pradeep and another schoolmate. There was an argument, followed by an exchange of blows. Later that day, when Pradeep visited Roshan house to borrow a book, a team of policemen, including a woman police officer, turned up at Roshan’s house and demanded to see Pradeep.
“When Pradeep came forward, the woman police officer started to hit him,” Roshan said. “Pradeep was dragged onto the road and led to the police station. On the way the police officers kept hitting him. We told them not to beat Pradeep, but they shouted at us and chased us away.”
According to Pradeep, he was put into a cell on arriving at the police station, on the instructions of the officer in charge (OIC).
“I was then taken out of the cell and questioned,” Pradeep said. “One of the officers hit me hard and demanded that I speak louder. I hadn’t eaten anything that morning and I was feeling faint. My head was banged against the wall. My nose was bleeding. I then felt I was losing consciousness.”
Pradeep was then taken to the Vilgamuwa hospital, where the policeman accompanying him told the doctor in charge that Pradeep had been involved in a fight with a colleague.
“The doctor said I should be admitted to the hospital. But I was given two tablets and taken back to the police station and put back in the jail cell. That evening my mother and brother came to the police station and insisted on taking me to the hospital,” Pradeep said.
The Sunday Times learns that Pradeep, who had a twin brother who died in a traffic accident a few years ago, has a heart condition, and that most of the parents’ earnings go on Pradeep’s medical expenses. Pradeep’s father is a farmer, and the family lives in a very modest house.
The parents told The Sunday Times that the incident between the two teenage boys was a school incident and should have been dealt with by the school authorities. The incident did not warrant police intervention, they said.
It is understood that the police officers involved, including the woman police officer, have since been transferred. Investigations are under way.
Vilgamuwa Police OIC, Inspector Palitha Jayaratne, told The Sunday Times that the police had received a complaint about a brawl between two teenagers. He said there would be an investigation to determine whether the police officers involved had broken the law in their handling of Pradeep’s case.
Central Province DIG Pujitha Jayasundara said there would be a thorough investigation into the incident.
When The Sunday Times contacted the woman police officer and asked her about the assault charge, she said she was merely doing her duty. In the course of conversation, she claimed that Pradeep had beaten up her nephew on a previous occasion. | 
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