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Orugodawatte inflamed over child in chains
By Chris Kamalendran
As charges and counter charges over allegations of child torture, organs racket rocked Orugodawatte amidst scenes of mob violence, the Colombo Crimes Detective Bureau has entered the scene and taken over investigations.

The explosive episode unfolded on Wednesday when residents of Stace Road flats lodged a complaint at the Grandpass police that a woman in one of the flats was holding an under-aged girl forcibly in chains. Police had searched the house and said they found no sign of the child.

But residents in the area, unhappy over the police claim, had stormed the flat with the assistance of a Buddhist monk in the area. Among the search party was an old man who on suspicion had checked under the bed and found the teenage girl chained to it.
The girl was later handed over to police amidst allegations of police cover-up after they failed to find her during their search of the flat.

Meanwhile the woman living in the house, identified as Nishanthi Siriwardena surrendered to the police on Thursday night. But angry residents surrounded the apartment situated on the ground floor of the flats and stormed in once again after a scuffle with police who were unable to stop the crowd invasion.

Infuriated residents had dragged out items belonging to the woman and set them on fire. The fire brigade was called in, but mobs attacked the fire engines damaging the windscreens of two. The Colombo fire brigade had asked for police protection, but it had been reportedly refused.

On Friday morning amidst rumours that the bodies of young children had been buried in the house after being killed for their organs, mobs broke into the house again and started digging the ground.

They claimed that they had detected clothes which had been buried. Police commandos and army took up positions in the area on Friday night after two police motorcycles were burnt down, and mobs attacked policemen who were on traffic duty.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had reportedly issued orders to bring the situation under control amidst apparent moves by political parties trying to capitalise on the matter.

Meanwhile residents insisted that the woman was involved in a major racket of removing organs of children and selling them and said the clothes belonged to these victims. They said they had even found school uniforms of girls, clothes of females and some smaller children.

As the search by the mobs continued, police appeared to have virtually lost control of the situation and kept away from the scene. Earlier in the day the woman who was produced before the Fort Magistrate J.R.Dissanayake told courts she had been looking after the girl since 1990 after the child's mother abandoned her at the age of two years.

She said that she had brought up the child and sent her to a school in Modara.
Admitting that she beat the girl as she was associating with some men in the area she said, "I wanted her to keep away from these men. Like any mother I was only correcting her," she said. However the woman denied charges that she had chained the girl.

The woman was remanded until April 11 and the girl has been handed over to the Salvation Army. The Magistrate also directed police to get a psychiatrist’s report on the suspect.

Meanwhile the police officer who failed to detect the girl has been transferred out of the Grandpass area, pending investigations. Colombo DIG Bodhi Liyanage said some of the people who tried to create disturbances on Friday at Orugodawatte were those who had participated in the anti US protest and were later dispersed by police.

Four police officers interdicted
Four Grandpass polcie officers have been interdicted for failing in their duties relating to the Orugodawatte mystery house and the consequent riots, Police Chief T. E. Anandaraja said yesterday.

Addressing the news conference, he said the four officers were interdicted for their failure to find the girl who had allegedly been tied under a bed with a dog's chain at the mystery house, provoking angry residents to accuse the police of a cover up and attack the station.

Interior Minister John Amaratunga said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had ordered a full probe on the Orugodawatte incidents and told police to enforce strict security.

He said the prime minister was concerned that certain political elements might capitalise on this situation. Mr. Amaratunga said the people must not take the law into their hands as they could destroy vital evidence. He was referring to the crowd which attacked the mystery house in a bid to dig up evidence.

Court calls for medical report in rights petition
The Supreme Court on Friday called for the judicial medical reports of Emmanuel Fernando who has filed a fundamental rights application alleging that he was subject to cruel and inhuman treatment while he was imprisoned at the Welikade prison.
The petitioner was sentenced to one year's rigorous imprisonment recently for contempt of court.

The application was heard before a bench comprising Justice Dr. Shiranee Bandaranaike, Justice J.A.N. de Silva and Justice Nihal Jayasinghe. The petitioner has cited Gayan Chrishantha (Welikade prison jail guard), the Superintendent of Prisons and the Attorney General as respondents.

The petitioner has alleged that when attempts to put him into a prisons bus parked at the gate of the Courts to be taken back to the Welikade prison while he was on a stretcher failed one of the prison guards shook him by the shoulder and dragged him into the bus. When he was lying on the floor of the bus he alleged that he was kicked on the stomach, back and spine and hit on the face and body by prison guards. He also stated in the petition that his father had witnessed the assault.

The petitioner further stated that UN Special Repporteur Dato Param Coomaraswamy had visited him in hospital. Desmond Fernando, PC, K.S. Ratnavale, Attorney-at-Law instructed by Kamini T. Dissanayake appeared for the Petitioner. This case will be called again on 28 April .

Buddhist council urges Saudi Govt. to stop conversions
The Jathika Sangha Sammelanaya (National Council of Buddhist Priests) has urged the Saudi Government to stop financing campaigns to persuade Buddhists to embrace the Islamic faith.

In a letter to the Saudi Ambassador the council alleged that there is a sinister campaign in Sri Lanka to convert Buddhists by various Islamic religious organisations and other interested parties.

The council has further alleged that these organisations are funded by Islamic organisations in the Middle East. The council has expressed the view that attempts to convert Buddhists would be considered provocative acts.

Hence the Saudi Government should pass legislation immediately to prevent unethical conversions. Last week the Jathika Sangha Sammelanaya handed over letters in this regard to the Norwegian, South Korean, USA and Pakistani embassies.

Case of privileged prisoners being probed by CID
By Nalaka Nonis
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has launched an investigation into a case where a prisoner was permitted to attend a funeral in Kandana by two prison guards who had been accompanying him to the Mahara prison after attending the Negombo High Court, Director of the CID, Sisira Mendis told The Sunday Times.

Immediately on receiving a complaint of an alleged irregularity by the prison guards Interior Minister John Amaratunga had ordered the Wattala police to arrest the prisoner and the prison guards at the funeral house.

However, the culprits had evaded arrest and returned to the Mahara prison where they were taken into custody by prison officials. Wattala Police said that the prisoner, Upul Srikantha alias Balagala Sampath, had been indicted for illegal possession of bombs and firearms and involvement in criminal activity in the Wattala police area.

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