A labour contractor who allegedly employed minors for manual work was arrested this week after a young boy was killed while cutting off branches from a tall tree at Bambawa in the Galewela police area.Hashan Kumaratunga (15) died shortly after admission to the Galewela hospital after suffering serious head injuries during the fall.
Investigators said the youngster - a school drop-out - had apparently slipped from the 40 foot tall tree while stretching out to chop branches bordering the power lines on the road.
He was part of a work force on contract to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) tasked to cut branches in the path of the power lines in the area.
Investigators have also found out that the suspect contractor allegedly sought minors to be enlisted on his payroll since they could be paid cheaper rates than adult workers.
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| The victim Hashan and the tree from which he fells |
This practice had allegedly been going on for some time until Thursday’s tragedy brought the matter to light.
At the time of the incident there were two more under-aged boys allegedly employed by the contractor for similar tasks.
Nimal Karunatilleke (14) said that the victim was reluctant to climb this particular tree since it was very tall, but the suspect had allegedly forced him to undertake the task threatening to cut his wages if he refused to do so.
The victim was the oldest in the group, the boy said.
N. J. Jayaratne, the victim’s father, a labourer from Anuradhapura said the contractor was allegedly in the habit of scouting for minors to carry out various tasks.
“These young boys get very excited at the prospect of earning some money and fall easy prey,” Jayaratne told the Sunday Times.
“The children take on these jobs without the knowledge of their respective homes,” said Jayaratne whose wife is currently employed abroad. |
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