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8-year-old detained overnight by police in place of absentee mother
By Piyadasa Samaraweera- Padaviya
The Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Welioya Police Station has been ordered to personally appear before the Circuit Magistrate Court in Padaviya and report on allegations that an 8-year-old schoolboy was taken into custody and detained overnight at the police station because his mother, who was the subject of an arrest warrant, was not present at the time.
The order also includes conducting a special investigation into the matter and submitting a report to the court. This directive was issued yesterday by Kebithigollewa Magistrate Kasun Kanchana Dissanayake.
The Magistrate further instructed the probation officer to conduct a child protection inquiry and submit a report.
This incident is connected to a case involving a suspect currently in remand custody related to a case from Helabawewa village in Welioya. A warrant had been issued for his wife, who was out on bail in another case. On April 28, when police attempted to execute the arrest warrant at her residence, they found only three children- a 3-year-old and two 8-year-old children - with their grandmother. It is alleged that the police took one of the 8-year-old boys into custody and detained him overnight at the Welioya Police Station.
The Bar Association of the Kebithigollewa Magistrate Court strongly objected to the child's detention, claiming that the Welioya police had violated the minors fundamental rights and called for justice on his behalf.
Despite repeated pleas from the child’s, grandmother, the chief monk of the Helabawewa village temple, and several villagers who came to the station, the child was not released until the morning of April 29. Notably, the boy had to sit for a term examination at Helabawewa Primary School on that same day, raising further concerns about his mental well-being.
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