17 July 2020 12:00 am
By Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya & Rekha Tharangani
Police yesterday fired tear gas to disperse a group of people who acted violently near the Angulana Police station by pelting stones when the court case over the recent death of a fisherman was taken up in the Moratuwa Magistrate’s Court.
When the case was taken up in the court yesterday, the Magistrate ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to take over the investigations and the case was postponed to July 30.
The protesters alleged that though the court had ordered to arrest the suspects and produce them in court, the police have not yet made any arrest over the death of the fisherman.
The 39-year-old fisherman travelling in a three-wheeler was stopped at a police roadblock at Lunawa, Moratuwa and shot dead by police following an alleged altercation on July 10.
The post-mortem revealed that the fisherman had been shot in the head. Earlier, the Acting IGP interdicted the three police officers at the road block in connection with the shooting incident. Following yesterday’s violent incident, police said the sign board at the Police station and a vehicle were damaged by the angry group of people. The STF was also deployed to bring the situation under control.
Western Province Senior DIG Deshabandu Thennakoon also arrived at the scene following the clash. Senior DIG Thennakoon said that proper investigations will be conducted over yesterday’s violent incident in which public proprty was damaged.
When a journalist questioned the Senior DIG as to why ,journalists were not permitted inside the court to cover the case, he said police had not made any request to court to do so and that another investigation would be carried out in this regard. Meanwhile, he visited the family members of the victim and talked to the residents stressing that damaging public property was an offence.
Two women and a man came who forward saying they pelted stones at the police, were taken to the Mount Lavinia Police Station.