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R’pura’s River of no return
In a tragic turn of events, four out of six people who went on a leisure trip were drowned when they went for a bath in the Ihala Rathganga in Ratnapura on Friday.
The family of six from Moratuwa was on a trip and four persons, including two children, drowned while they were bathing in the river.

Among the victims were 36 year-old Vasanthi Kumari Dias and two children, Malith (9) and Chamith (7). The body of Emelyn Nona, who was also among the victims, is yet to be found. Ratnapura police had reported that they were unable to find her body even by Friday night.

Two other family members - Shiron and Latha - were rescued while they were being swept away in the strong flow of water in the river. Ratnapura Police are conducting investigations into the incident. This is the second incident during the week where a family had suffered a tragedy during leisure trips.

Women teachers file petition in sex abuse case
Two women arrested in connection with a child sex abuse case in a children's home in Kaithady, Jaffna, have filed a fundamental rights petition with the High Court in Colombo for arrest and illegal detention.

The women are demanding compensation of Rs. one million for arrest and detention and linking them to alleged sex abuses at the Hindu Children's Home run by the North Lanka Hindu Congress. The Home was raided in April on a court order from the Chavakachcheri Magistrate following complaints from the public of sex abuse.

The raid resulted in the arrest of two men and two women. The women were teachers at the Home, which was a haven for children aged eight to 17 years. There were 40 girls in the Home while there were only 12 boys. Cases of abuse were reported only with regard to girls. Girls were allegedly abused by the 67-year-old warden.

The Secretary of the North Lanka Hindu Congress was among the persons arrested and released on bail for his lack of awareness of what was allegedly happening, despite his weekly visits to the Home. The Home was brought under the charge of the Chavakachcheri Magistrate's court on April 12. On April 17 the court gave a ruling that all the children must be sent to the Uduvil Children's Home.

No Malaysian visa for LTTE’s Balraj
Former LTTE Northern Province Military Commander, ‘Colonel’ Balraj (Kandaiya Balasekeram) has been refused a visa by Malaysia, as the LTTE is a banned organization there.

The 38-year-old Balraj who suffered a heart attack last week sought the visa to go to Malaysia for medical treatment. However, permission was refused and later he left for Singapore.

Balraj who has been involved in a series of attacks against the Sri Lanka Army had been sidelined in the recent past due to his illness. He was flown to Colombo in a military helicopter, before taking a flight to Singapore. Balraj was accompanied by LTTE members Sudarshan and Sivakanthan.

Balraj is the second LTTE high-ranking member to seek medical treatment overseas. Last year Raju suffering from cancer received treatment in Singapore. He later died. It was alleged that the group had not been subjected to customs check before boarding Singapore Airlines. However, a statement issued by the Government Spokesman's office said the three LTTE members were subjected to all security checks.

Forty two prisoners on death row
A total of 42 prisoners accused of drug trafficking and other serious offences are reported to be on Death Row in prisons around the country.
Out of this number 38 prisoners are Sri Lankans including one female, Prison sources said.
The inmates have been sentenced between 1984 and 2003. Among the foreign prisoners is one female.
Possession of two grams or more of heroin carries with it the death penalty.
A total of 77 prisoners accused of drug possession are languishing in prison, out of which 64 are Sri Lankans.
In 1996 the police were able to nab 38 hard core drug dealers.

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