Concerns of child safety arise after two children die from unnatural causes
Investigations launched by Police and Childcare Services Department
The deaths of two underaged children—one in a state-run children's orphanage and another at a privateowned Madrasa school in Batticaloa— have raised concerns about the safety of children, with the police launching investigations after postmortem reports this week revealed the deaths were due to unnatural causes.
On Tuesday, a 13-year-old student who was studying at a privately owned Madrasa school with hostel facilities at Sainthamaruthu in Ampara was found dead. The boy, identified as M. S. Musab from Kattankudi, was staying at the inhouse hostel run by the Madrasa school, despite the institution being only registered as a Quran school. The boy was found dead in the washroom after fellow students noticed his absence during Maghrib prayers in the afternoon.
Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Department Director Z.A.M. Faizal confirmed the institution was registered as a Quran-learning academy where students could learn, but it was not allowed to run with hostel facilities.
"We have also launched investigations into this incident and the institution itself," he said.
Following a tense situation that erupted after villagers and the victim's relatives gathered at the scene, claiming that there were several complaints lodged in the past against the Moulavi, he was taken into police custody by the Sainthamaruthu Police.
According to thecoroner's report by C.T. Mahanama, an official attached to the Ampara District Hospital, the cause of the death was strangulation and breathing difficulties.
When the Magisterial inquiries began at Kalmunai Magistrate Court on Friday, the Sainthamaruthu Police informed the court that four people were taken into custody over a missing Digital Video Recorder (DVR) and hard disc drive that recorded Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage at the institution.
Speaking at the weekly media briefing on Friday, Police Spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said the police had launched an investigation into the child's death following the report by the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) that concluded that the death was due to strangulation and breathing difficulties.
“It is too early to say whether this was murder or suicide. We can only determine it after police investigations, but our investigations are focused on murder as well,” he said.
Meanwhile, the head of the state-run reformatory school in Kalmunai, where a 14-year-old boy was found dead, was remanded for two weeks after being produced in court.
The boy, Aanandadevan Darshanth, from Kokkuvil in Batticaloa, had been arrested by police along with the priest of
a local Hindu temple on charges of stealing a brass lamp and a bell.
A photo of the handcuffed 14-year-old victim kneeling at the Kokkuvil Police station along with the priest emerged on social media platforms following the boy's death.
After being produced in the Batticaloa Magistrate Courts, Darshanth was ordered to be admitted to a reformatory school in Kalumunai, while the priest was granted bail.
Darshanth had dropped out of school while in grade four during the pandemic and worked in the local temple as an assistant to support his family.
His grieving father, Narayan Aanandadevan, said when he called the school's probation officers, he was told his son would be released after two weeks and would be given vocational training as a school leaver.
“My elder son informed me that Darshanth had died at the centre. When I went there, I saw my son detained in a cell. He had an injury below his knees and on his back. My son was assaulted at this centre, and because of the injuries, he died,” Mr. Aanandadevan said.
He also alleged that the police failed to obtain medical reports on his son’s health condition from the JMO before admitting him to the reformatory school.
According to the post-mortem report by Ampara District Hospital JMO Dr. Kamal Bandara, the victim had sustained several injuries caused by a blunt weapon. The report also indicated there were several bruises on his body.
Eastern Province Probation and Childcare Services Department Commissioner R. Risvani said her department had also launched an inquiry. Handcuffing an underage boy with an adult and forcing him to kneel at the police station was against the law and could not be accepted, said Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission District Coordinator Chandrasri Withanage.
“If a child is arrested and detained, a woman officer should be with the child,” he added.
President's Secretary Saman Ekanayake had also called for a report over the incident from the authorities earlier this week.