Victim sues cop for Rs 50 M
BY STANLEY SAMARASINGHE- October 4, 2014
Weerasinghe Arachchilage Kanthilatha, of Ratnapura, yesterday filed a Fundamental Rights petition, in the Supreme Court, complaining that she was assaulted with a thick cane and kicked by a policeman. She claimed compensation in Rs 50 million from her assailant.
She filed this petition through Luxan Dias and Udul Premaratne, of Lawyers for Human Rights Collective.
The petitioner states that assault took place in the evening and it was witnessed by many people and she had later learned that.....someone had videoed the assault and uploaded to the internet.
The Officer-in-Charge of Ratnapura Police, Senior Superintendent, Ratnapura Division, the Police Spokesperson and the Inspector General of Police, have been cited as respondents.
According to her petition, she is 35 years old, at the time of her birth, father had left them and she had not seen her father.
In 1994, she married W.P. Thushara and have two kids but live separately. She has no proper job but whenever she needs money, she provides sexual services to men in the Ratnapura area as a commercial sex worker.
Prior to this incident, the police personnel who assaulted her had approached her at the Ratnapura Bus Stand and requested sexual service free of charge. When she refused, he had then demanded half a bottle of arrack, when she refused that too, he had stated 'you will see what I can do'.
That police personnel was angry with her since then and on the day in question, while she was roaming around the bus stand, she had an argument with another commercial sex worker over the waiting area. It was a heated verbal exchange, the petitioner stated.
She claimed the other sex worker was good with the police personnel and when the petitioner went to a nearby tea shop, the policeman followed her and asked her why she came to the area as she was told not to come. He had then started assaulting her, the petition stated.
Petitioner requested the Court to grant leave to proceed with the petition and order the Police Department to guarantee protection for the petitioner and her children in public places.
The petitioner also requested Court to order the Inspector General of Police to expel all those involved in the case from the Police Department if they are found guilty, through an Internal Police Department inquiry, with the offence of torture, cruelty, inhuman and degrading treatment.
Further, the petitioner also requested the Court to order the IGP to appoint a Special Committee to investigate this matter and a monitoring team in partnership and in consultation with Attorney General's Department, and Bar Association of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission.
BY STANLEY SAMARASINGHE- October 4, 2014
Weerasinghe Arachchilage Kanthilatha, of Ratnapura, yesterday filed a Fundamental Rights petition, in the Supreme Court, complaining that she was assaulted with a thick cane and kicked by a policeman. She claimed compensation in Rs 50 million from her assailant.She filed this petition through Luxan Dias and Udul Premaratne, of Lawyers for Human Rights Collective.The petitioner states that assault took place in the evening and it was witnessed by many people and she had later learned that.....someone had videoed the assault and uploaded to the internet.
The Officer-in-Charge of Ratnapura Police, Senior Superintendent, Ratnapura Division, the Police Spokesperson and the Inspector General of Police, have been cited as respondents.
According to her petition, she is 35 years old, at the time of her birth, father had left them and she had not seen her father.
In 1994, she married W.P. Thushara and have two kids but live separately. She has no proper job but whenever she needs money, she provides sexual services to men in the Ratnapura area as a commercial sex worker.
Prior to this incident, the police personnel who assaulted her had approached her at the Ratnapura Bus Stand and requested sexual service free of charge. When she refused, he had then demanded half a bottle of arrack, when she refused that too, he had stated 'you will see what I can do'.
That police personnel was angry with her since then and on the day in question, while she was roaming around the bus stand, she had an argument with another commercial sex worker over the waiting area. It was a heated verbal exchange, the petitioner stated.
She claimed the other sex worker was good with the police personnel and when the petitioner went to a nearby tea shop, the policeman followed her and asked her why she came to the area as she was told not to come. He had then started assaulting her, the petition stated.
Petitioner requested the Court to grant leave to proceed with the petition and order the Police Department to guarantee protection for the petitioner and her children in public places.
The petitioner also requested Court to order the Inspector General of Police to expel all those involved in the case from the Police Department if they are found guilty, through an Internal Police Department inquiry, with the offence of torture, cruelty, inhuman and degrading treatment.
Further, the petitioner also requested the Court to order the IGP to appoint a Special Committee to investigate this matter and a monitoring team in partnership and in consultation with Attorney General's Department, and Bar Association of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission.
