Police force on teenager in love...

By Ranee Mohamed 

The small house in Moratuwella is locked. Knock at the door and it does not open. Then after a long time comes a frightened young woman, her eyes filled with tears, her hair disheveled, walks like a zombie, and a young man with angry red eyes joins her and asks 'why?' From inside comes the uncontrollable sobbing of a young girl.

These are the parents of the 15 year old girl who was sexually abused by two sub inspectors of the Sri Lanka Police on May 11.

Tuesday, May 11 had been a day which had bluer skies for this 15 year old school girl in love. After attending her extra classes around 3 p.m. she had made her way to meet her boyfriend and the two had eyes only for each other as they sat alone in the thatched roof cabana of the Mount Lavinia beach.

"I saw two men approaching us. They told us that they were from the police, they threatened us with a revolver and they beat my boyfriend and chased him away," she had later said. In a complaint she had cited that the two police officers sexually abused her in the cabana.

An eye witness

A witness to the incident who did not want to 'get involved' said that the police officers had stripped the girl naked and had made her stand in the rain.

"We are so frightened. We do not know what to do. We were aware that our daughter was in love," the parents said. They stood there numb with fear and the mother of the woman seemed like she had a lot to say, much to cry about - but she did not say anything. Instead the tears in her eyes said it all.

Their daughter however had greater confidence in the police establishment for she and her boyfriend had thereafter rushed to the Mount Lavinia police and made a complaint about the two police officers.

In the complaint, she had also cited that the two police officers had wanted her to 'come without fail' to a popular super market in Mount Lavinia the next day at a specified time for a sexual adventure or prepare for a double funeral.

S.S.P. Willie Abeynaike, on studying the complaint, took immediate steps to get more police officers involved in this planned adventure. Having contacted the OIC, Kohuwala police, Sisira Tissera, SSP Willie Abeynaike directed that Tissera and other police officers in civilian clothing be present at this 'meeting place.'

Trap

So, around 3 p.m. on the specified date, the girl stood at the supermarket. In a threewheeler, clad in a sarong and a shirt was OIC Tissera of the Kohuwala police, while several other officers in mufti paraded unseen.

Exactly at 3 p.m., in keeping with service tradition, a man dressed to kill had arrived and made his way towards the young girl. On making a sign with her hand the school girl drew the entire police team to her rescue. Police also found a weapon in his possession.

The SI present at the scene was taken into custody and on information received from him, his accomplice too was arrested.

An identification parade held revealed that the two sub inspectors, Chaminda Eleysinghe and Sarath Sibalagoda of the Mount Lavinia police, were the two police officers referred to in the complaint made by the school girl.

Strict action

SSP Willie Abeynaike when contacted about the incident said that he is inquiring into the incident and that the police officers had taken the two revolvers without permission and that they had no business being there at that time. "There is also an offence under the penal code and the amended firearms ordinance," pointed out the SSP "I will be taking strict disciplinary action and these officers will be dismissed from the service. I am very concerned about this matter and such incidents have not happened in my division," said the SSP. who has over 30 years experience in police service.

"A police officer should be well disciplined and he should be of a different character than a person in society," said Abeynaike.

Warning

Willie Abeynaike spoke of the importance of good conduct pointing out that police officers raid brothels, recover 'big money' and jewellery, and it is the discipline and the training that makes them so special. "You may get ideas, but you just cannot implement those," he stressed .