I saw Sumith pushed off the building, says wife
Posted on January 21st, 2016

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Shashika Nishamani Munasinghe, the widow of Sumith Prasanna Munasinghe (29) who died after a controversial fall from a three-storey building in Embilipitiya two weeks ago, during a clash with the police said yesterday that she seen her husband being pushed off the building.

Addressing a media briefing held in Maradana yesterday at which her daughter, mother and some of Sumith Prasanna’s relatives were also present, she said that they were not at all satisfied with the way the police investigations were conducted.

My husband was never involved in any sort of crime, but he had a habit of speaking out against injustice irrespective of the status of those responsible for the injustice. Today I have lost him because of that.

“Attempts made by us to reveal what we saw that night have failed. The police ignored our revelations. There are many eye witnesses who are keen on giving statements to the police. But no statements from those who witnessed the incident were taken by the police during their so-called investigations,” she said.

She described what she witnessed as follows.

At around 11.30 pm I heard a loud noise at the house party where my husband was helping the organisers. I came out of my house and ran towards that house. Several men were being beaten by men wielding batons. A police jeep was stopped in front. I ran here and there looking for my husband, despite my poor health. I found him arguing with some police officers. He was asking them not to break the law and to do their duty properly. I was afraid. I dragged him away and begged him to go home even if some injustice had been done. As we were leaving, the party organisers asked us to have dinner. Suddenly, some police officers came up and pointed my husband out to other police officers who were in plainclothes. They dragged my husband away by his collar. When I was clung to his hands, I was pushed away by the police. He was taken upstairs, then I heard the sound of glass breaking. I rushed upstairs and saw my husband being pushed out of the building. He was begging them not to beat him, but they paid no heed. Finally I found him on the floor in a pool of blood. No one offered to take him to hospital. Later he was taken to hospital in a three-wheeler but I lost him,” Sumith’s weeping wife said.

She said police had obstructed her when giving her statement at the DIG’s office in Ratnapura. She was suspicious of the conduct of the police and the manner in which officers of the Embilipitiya Police and the DIG’s office in Ratnapura recorded her complaint.

The impartiality of the ongoing investigations was doubtful, she said.

Meanwhile, Attorney at Law Vijitha G. Punchihewa, who is representing the victim’s relatives, asked the police to submit the police investigation report issued by DIG C.D. Wickramaratne on the death of Sumith Prasanna.

Social activist Udul Premaratne, who is also a lawyer, said they would take legal action against, “another funny and dramatic turn of events” — where Police Spokesman ASP Ruwan Gunasekara handled the witnesses on behalf of the police at the magisterial inquiry.

He said this had already destroyed their expectation of an impartial hearing. (Piyumi Fonseka)


Pic by Lahiru Harshana – See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/103607/i-saw-sumith-pushed-off-the-building-says-wife#sthash.7IkM0fsj.dpuf

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