And yet another suspect dies in police custody

by Wasantha Ramanayake

Protests against the death. Pix by S. Siriwardene

( April 22, 2012, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The mysterious death of Nimal Chandrasiri Dahanayke (42), a fisherman of Thalpitiya, Wadduwa, who died last Sunday (15) while in the custody of the Wadduwa Police, is the latest addition to a long list of deaths in police custody.

The deceased, Nimal Chandrasiri, who was married with two sons (22 and 20) and a daughter (17), was the fourth suspect in a litigation, where the first suspect is a hotelier of the area, who had allegedly opened his liquor shop on a Poya day.

Chandrasiri’s family believe that his death is linked to a Fundamental Rights (FR) case filed by the hotel owner against the Wadduwa Police, where the hotelier had not wanted Nimal Chandrasiri to plead guilty to the charges made by the Police, in view of the FR application in the Supreme Court against the Wadduwa OIC.

A lawyer in the area, who wished to remain anonymous, charged that, apart from this FR case, there are other serious allegations against this OIC who enjoyed impunity.

Dilupa Pieris (37), Nimal’s wife, was angry with the media reports on her husband’s death, alleging that the media had been partial towards the police. “They have insulted my dead husband,” she accused.

The eldest son, D. Sampath Thushara (22), married with a four-month-old baby, told the Sunday Times, “My father had gone to Panadura between 4.30 am and 4.45 am, which is his routine for almost 20 years. Then, his mother had received a call at 5.58 am, saying that ‘Nimal’ was taken in by the Police.”