'No evidence' against SSP
No evidence was found against a senior police officer accused of abducting and brutally assaulting a student, police said.
Police spokesman Senior Superintendant of Police (SSP) Ranjith Gunasekara told BBC Sandeshaya that only accusations levelled against SSP Vas Gunawardena was questioning a student who had been abducted and assaulted hours ago. SSP Vas Gunawardene’s son and eleven police officials are accused of abducting and brutally assaulting Nipuna Ramanayake, a student of Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT). The student was abducted at gunpoint and assaulted for several hours, over a personal feud, by Ravindu Vas Gunawardena and a group of police officers, it was alleged. Abducted at gun point Ravindu is a student at the same institution as the son of Director of Colombo Crime Division SSP Vas Gunawardena. “SSP Vas Gunawardena is not accused of abducting or assaulting the student,” SSP Gunasekara said. Ravindu Vas Gunawardena was admitted to a psychiatric ward, police told the court on Monday. Kaduwela magistrate then requested Nugegoda magistrate to check the condition of Ravindu Vas Gunawardena, son of Senior Superintendant of Police (SSP) Vas Gunawardena and make an appropriate order. Questioning the police as to why SSP Gunawardena was not named as a suspect, the court ordered the police to submit a report on naming the senior police official as a suspect. Eleven accused police officers were also remanded until 31 August. The court was also informed that police still conduct investigations into the alleged involvement of SSP Vas Gunawardena’s wife in the assault. The counsel representing the victim's interests, Hemapala Ekanayake, said that he questioned the failure of the police to arrest the SSP and his wife. "We also raised the issue of threats to Nipuna and his family after the incident," he told BBC Sandeshaya. The case was postponed until 31 August.