The Supreme Court recently delivered two significant judgments. It is related to the murder of a 17 year old youth named Sandun Malinga in the Kandeketiya area in Badulla and the murder of a 42 year old father of two named Chadik Sherman in the Peliyagoda area in police custody.
The Fundamental Rights Petition was filed on behalf of Sandun Malinga in 2014, and the verdict was handed down seven years later, on May 21, 2021. The Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental rights of the plaintiff had been violated by violating Articles 11, 12 (1) and 13 (1) of the Constitution. Accordingly, it was decided that compensation should be paid to the five police officers and the government on behalf of Sandun Malinga.
The fundamental rights petition was filed on behalf of Chadik Sherman in 2017, and the verdict was announced four years later, on July 14, 2021. The five Peliyagoda police officers arrested by Chadik Sherman, Sumedha Thushanga, Indika Priyadarshana, Chanaka Rukman, Lahiru Roshan and Ajith Jayalal, were ordered to pay Rs. 50,000 each and the government to pay Rs. 750,000 as compensation.
On May 6, 2014, Kandeketiya police arrested three persons, including Sandun Malinga, on charges of attempting to search for treasure. It was also reported that the police officers were drunk at the time of their arrest. On May 9, 2014, three days after his arrest, Sandun died as a result of police assault. Five police officers and a Civil Defense Force officer were sentenced to death in the Badulla High Court in connection with the murder. The Badulla High Court Judge issued the order on January 09, 2017.
Less than a month after the Badulla High Court sentenced five police officers to death, Chadik Sherman was arrested on February 5, 2017 on a tip – off that he had a firearm. The next day, his wife learns of Chadik Sherman’s death. His wife also says that the five police officers who directly arrested Chadik were responsible for the death. The criminal case related to this death is still pending in the Colombo High Court.
If officials working in a department set up to prevent crime and protect people from crime continue to commit crimes or are involved in committing crimes, there can be no hope for the future of that country.
The people living in this country need to pay more attention to this in order to stop this system which has been active for more than five decades. Under such circumstances, no matter where you live or what your rank is, you are more likely to be a victim of a police crime at any time.
One of the reasons for this situation is that the police have significant laws in place to prevent such illegal activities, but they are not enforced properly and quickly.
Also, we need to look into why some officers are still behaving so cruelly without learning a lesson from it, even though some laws have been delayed or enforced and sometimes even punished.
People who have some understanding of police behavior in this regard say that such actions take place from time to time due to the ignorance of some investigating officers, the pressure put on them, overwork and stress. There may be some truth in the fact that nearly half of the total numbers of police officers have been directed to Priestly Security, the shortage of educated officers, the failure of the government to provide the officers with the necessary modern training and equipment and the failure to uplift their mental state.
However, the insignificance of assault statements is such that not only is it a violation of fundamental rights but also a criminal offense if accused of assault. We need to pay more attention to the fact that it continues to do so even though it has been proven.
When inquired about this, such atrocities were reported not only by the police department but also by schools and universities. It is also reported through the college system and the prison system. If so, we find that these methods are still being used not only to obtain information but also to control certain groups.
To eliminate this, then, we must incorporate into our system of government the modern methods used by the developed world today, not only to obtain information but also to control it. Decades of experience tell us that the new law alone will not change it.
Chadik Sherman’s incident as reported by the media:-
Photo excerpt from the internet.