Police and a group of residents from a Colombo suburb traded charges this week after the arrest of a drug suspect sparked a mob attack on a police post.
An irate resident claimed that some incidents reminded them of the ‘dark era’ in late 1980s when security officials cracked down on JVP suspects.
Last Sunday morning, police asked residents in Summitpura, Mattakkuliya, to gather at the Sriwickremapura grounds.
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| The police station that was stormed by mobs |
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| A ransacked house |
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| Children walk past a damaged three-wheeler |
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| A damaged three-wheeler |
They were told to gather there to settle a dispute between police and a group of residents.
Men, women and children from 950 families -- almost the entire village – had arrived at the grounds by 8am in the wake of police announcements made over the loudspeakers.
Men and women were asked to line up separately and were told to walk past four ‘hooded’ men. The men’s faces had been covered with an empty fertilizer bag that had small holes for their eyes.
As each resident passed the four men, they pointed their finger at certain people while others were cleared. The residents, who were identified by the ‘hooded’ men were beaten up and shoved into waiting buses.
The scene was a reminiscence of the 1987–90 era when men were arrested in a similar manner for their suspected involvement with the JVP.
The developments that led to this ‘identification parade’ started unfolding on Saturday night after police, acting on a tip-off, arrested a three-wheeler driver from Summitpura Officers at the Mattakkuliya police post said the suspect was allegedly carrying heroin.
'Thuwan Ahmed, 46, a labourer at the port, described the ‘ordeal’ to the Sunday Times. Ahmed said: “Police assaulted the arrested suspect in front of the residents despite their appeals to take him to the police station without beating him.”
Ahmed said the suspect’s mother visited the police station later but the officers did not allow her to see the suspect.
According to Ahmed, the woman claimed that she saw blood stains inside the police.
He said the mother told her neighbours after returning home that she feared for her son’s life.
Angered residents then surrounded the police and started pelting stones. Police claimed that three weapons had been removed from the station during the disturbances. As the situation deteriorated, the army was deployed to support police.
Residents started to return to their homes with the arrival of the army at the scene.
Later, just past midnight, residents started hearing sounds of screams, smashing of windows, glasses and three-wheelers.
Three-wheeler driver A Jagath, 26, was at his home that night. “I heard someone banging on my door. I did not open the door as my child was recovering from chicken pox. I then heard some people smashing my three-wheeler and the home windows. I went out only the next morning,” he said.
Nona Nasifa, another resident of Summitpura, also witnessed the attacks. “I saw about 100 men. They were in civvies and some armed with clubs and stones. They broke into our home and started looking for my son-in-law. They smashed up all household furniture including glassware, television and cupboards,” said Nasifa, pointing to the damaged items.
“I would have lost about Rs one million worth of items,” she said.
Factory worker Supun Amila Pathum, 20, was among those caught up in the troubles . “I was returning home after night shift. As I approached our lane, uniformed policemen stopped me and asked me where I was going. I said I was returning home after work. They accused me of taking part in a mob attack. I was unaware of any such attack,” he said.
“They checked my national identity card and asked for my purse and the cell phone and ordered me to kneel down. Ten minutes later, they told me to stand up and assaulted me. Thereafter, they chased me away without returning my phone and the identity card,” he said.
The youngster claimed that he was still afraid to visit the police station to obtain his NIC.
Some people were arrested and taken to the police station as well during the midnight raids.
Some of them claimed that their hair had been cut in different places. As many as 50 youths have had to shave their heads as policemen had cut their hair in patches.
It was after the midnight drama that the policemen made public announcements, asking the residents to gather at the ground. Police said they wanted an ‘amicable’ settlement to the dispute.
As many as 176 residents, including women, were released on bail on Monday, after being produced before Colombo Additional Magistrate Lal Ranasinghe
Thirty-one others were remanded on Wednesday for two more weeks.
IGP Mahinda Balasuriya, went on record a day after the incident, accusing the residents of smashing up their household goods.
He alleged that unruly elements had stormed the police station, backed by drug dealers and underworld gangsters.
All officers at the Mattakkuliya police post were transferred to other locations soon after the incident and an internal investigation is now underway.
Police spokesman Prashantha Jayakody rejected the residents’ claims that police had damaged their properties. Some of these residents are henchmen of drug dealers, he pointed out.
He said police had been obstructed from performing their legitimate task of arresting a drug peddler.
He said that only the people suspected of taking part in the attack on the police post, adding that some suspects were being quizzed over the weapons missing from the police station.
Some of the victims, meanwhile, said they had not been able to return to the police station to lodge complaints about the damage caused to their properties and vehicles so that they can file compensation claims.
Many residents said they would not have opposed the arrest of a drug peddler. But they criticised the manner in which police arrested the suspect, adding that they were provoked by the alleged attacks on innocent people, who had no involvement in the incident.
“From where could we expect justice if we are treated in this manner,” a woman commented. She alleged that her household goods were extensively damaged during the midnight drama. |
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