News
Human rights guidelines to put the cap on custodial deaths in police
View(s):Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has issued 119 guidelines to the police on preventing custodial deaths. The guidelines include details on how police should conduct arrests, transfer and detain suspects, communicate with family, use force, conduct interrogations and keep records in such a way as to prevent custodial and encounter deaths.
Recent months have seen a spate of custodial deaths. On May 2nd, Asanka Indunil who was held in remand on contempt of court charges was killed inside the Angunakola-pelessa prison with blows to the head and chest. Police are currently investigating the death. In April, Sathsara Nimesh died in hospital soon after spending the night at the Welikada police station.
Between January 2020 and March 2025 HRCSL recorded forty nine deaths in police custody as well as thirty deaths due to encounters with the police. Some of these deaths have been legally challenged. On Friday, 15 May 2025, three police officers were indicted for the death of Rajkumari, a domestic worker, who died in hospital soon after being detained by the Welikada police in 2023.
In light of complaints and the persistence of the issue, the HRCSL decided to issue the recent guidelines.
Notably the guidelines require that if an interrogation has to be conducted outside a police station, written consent from a senior police officer be obtained. They also mandate that the police grant arrested suspects the opportunity to communicate their arrest to their family as well as a lawyer without delay. The guidelines further emphasised that as per law, bail should be the norm in handling a suspect with remand being used only as an exception.
HRCSL also laid out the procedure in the event of a custodial death, stating that investigations be carried out by an Independent Committee of Investigators consisting of a senior police officer, judicial medical officer, representative from the government analyst’s department, ballistic expert, and legal professional. They added that investigations should be transparent and open to the scrutiny of the relatives of the deceased person and the public. The guidelines were sent to the Inspector General of Police earlier this week.
The best way to say that you found the home of your dreams is by finding it on Hitad.lk. We have listings for apartments for sale or rent in Sri Lanka, no matter what locale you're looking for! Whether you live in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and more - we've got them all!