Police Chief Jayantha Wickremaratne has called for a report on allegations that a team of Colombo Crime Division (CCD) police officers had abducted and assaulted a student of the Malabe IT campus.
Police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekara told the Sunday Times a statement had been recorded from the injured student and action would be taken against those involved in the incident on Tuesday.
Media reports on Thursday said CCD director SSP Vaas Gunewardene’s son was also involved in the incident. But the police spokesman said yesterday that there was no evidence to link the SSP’s son with the incident.
Nipuna Ramanayake, the 22-year-old second year student at the Sri Lanka Institute of Information and Technology (SLIIT) in Malabe continues to receive treatment at the Colombo National hospital.
Nipuna who hailed from Ratnapura came to Colombo with his mother to follow an IT degree.
He admitted that some SLIIT students had allegedly harassed the CCD director’s son Ravindu Sameera Gunawadena, a junior student.
 |
| The injured Nipuna Ramanayake |
“I did not know who Ravindu was until he had a brawl with a batch mate of mine last year. I was there when it happened. The brawl erupted when he banged against my friend and tried to push his weight around without any reason,” Nipuna said.
Recalling the incident on Tuesday, he said he was in a pretty good mood because he felt he had fared well in the exam. “I went to the canteen after I finished my exam around 12.30 p.m. There I saw the SSP’s son. He came and knocked on me and pointed me out to some men. But I didn’t take notice.
“Then later when I was going to a friend’s house with a friend of mine, a jeep stopped by us and five people in civvies got down. One of them had a T-56 while the other four carried pistols. They ordered me to get into the jeep and made me lie on the floor of the jeep. One of them kept his leg on my face while the others pointed their guns at me. They told me that if I got up that they would shoot me. One of them called Ravindu and asked him to come to Pittugala.
“When we were at Pittugala, Ravindu came and started to pistol-whip me while I was inside the jeep. He then ordered the men to blindfold me and tie my hands and legs. After that I heard him calling his mother and asking her to open the gate,” he said.
“Inside the house they started beating me with cricket stumps and hokey sticks. At that point I couldn’t even walk. Ravindu’s mother then walked in and scolded me in filth. She called me a beggar and took my purse and the three hundred rupees inside it. They cut my hair and shoved it in to my mouth. The mother started kicking my face and even stood on it,” he said.
“After several hours of torture they put me back into the jeep. Near Borella they untied me and took my blind fold off. The SSP then spoke to me and said ‘so you’re the one who has a problem with my son’.
“Then I was taken to the CCD. I couldn’t even walk up the stairs. So they dragged me to the fourth floor where the SSP’s office was. There he told another police officer that he should frame me for a bomb case and put me in jail for six years.
“I pleaded with him not to do so. Then he said I had to give a statement. In the statement they only asked my name, address, ID number and phone number. The rest was made up and written by them. I saw the policeman writing the statement jotting down underworld figure Olcot’s name. They were trying to link me with him. At that time my parents walked in to the CCD. They reprimanded the SSP and then brought me to a hospital.
“A minister who was related to me had helped us. He had spoken to the IGP. The SSP didn’t say a word when my parents scolded him.”
SSP Gunawardena was not available for comment. |
E-mail