The Human Rights Commission Of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has launched an investigation into the incident in which a young Tamil man from Jaffna among several other youngsters, were brutally assaulted by off-duty police officers and dragged to a police station.
The HRCSL sent a notice on Monday (20th April) requesting the Jaffna senior superintendent of police, to explain the action taken in response to the incident.
23-year-old Mutturasa Kannadasan, was attacked in his home in Araly, Jaffna and taken to Vaddukoddai police station, around 8pm on Saturday (18th April).
Fisherman Kannadasan came back from work and was having a chat with his two neighbours in his house, when six men in civil clothing started questioning them and argued about their gathering whilst a curfew had been imposed.
Other youngers were also heavily beaten with batons and sticks when asked to go and get their the identity cards. When Kannadasan’s wife went inside to pick up the identity card, the confrontation between the officers and Kannadasan escalated and he was severely beaten by the officers.
The villagers insisted that the officers involved in the incident were clearly drunk.
“My husband is a fisherman, he just arrived from work before the police arrived. He was beaten so badly with the baton that he nearly died,” cried Kannadasan’s wife.
This attack is an example of the many incidents of police harassment and brutal treatment of civilians across the North-East in the past few weeks during the curfew.
There have been incidents of bicycles having their tyres slashed; chains ripped out, people being harassed and beaten for standing in the front of their house, breaking chairs and vandalising houses and also hitting and behaving inappropriately with women.
