An intoxicated Sri Lankan police officer reportedly lost control of the jeep he was driving and rammed into a nursery where nearly Tamil 40 children had been sitting last week.
Footage from the scene show a section of the Vavuniya nursery was badly damaged and so was the police jeep. At the time of the incident, the children had left their study tables to spend time indoors. Onlookers and Tamil residents who arrived at the scene warned that if the children were at their study desks, there would have been several fatalities.
The officer was identified as the officer in charge of the occupying Puliyankulam police station.
Though Sri Lankan press have claimed a medical examination “revealed he was not under the influence of liquor”, the Sunday Times admitted “the presence of a beer bottle inside the crashed jeep has raised eyebrows, and further inquiries are ongoing”.
This is not the first time that the the officer in charge has been implicated in a crime. Two weeks ago, the same officer reportedly assaulted a Tamil within the police station premises with the help of several other officers. The Tamil individual's hands were tied and he was dragged into the station, allegedly on the orders of the office in charge, and assaulted. The family has since been demanding that justice be meted out.
While speaking in parliament, Tamil National People's Front MP Selvarajah Kajendran mentioned this issue adding that a mass casualty was avoided simply because the children had not been present at the scene and were indoors.
The Sri Lankan security forces continue to maintain a heavy presence across the Tamil homeland on the North-East of the island.
