STF commandos called to quell protesting crowds in Rathgama
Large crowds continued protesting yesterday in Rathgama near Galle, demanding justice over the abduction and killing of two businessmen.
Special Task Force commandos were called in after the crowds turned unruly. They hurled stones, injuring 3 Airmen and an Airwoman who were travelling in a bus from Rathgama to Koggala.
Whilst the sporadic protest continued for over a week, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detectives found bloodstained clothes of police officers who allegedly murdered the two businessmen, in a property in Matara.
According to the Galle Railway Station, 3 inbound and outbound trains were delayed due to the protest. However, services returned to normal later in the day. Around 500 persons staged a sit-in on the main road and the adjacent railway line around 10 am, blocking traffic.
Five of the 15 police officers of the Southern Special Crimes Unit ( SSCU) who were transferred to Colombo, have not yet reported to their new assigned post, police sources told the Sunday Times. "They will be considered as 'Vacated Post', if they do not report to their new stations by Monday," the source added. However, Police spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara claimed that the Police officers were issued the transfer orders on Friday, as such, they are allowed a day or two report to their new positions. "It is too early to say they haven't transferred, however, if they do not, it is considered a disciplinary matter" SP Gunasekara said, pointing out that any absence of the former members of the SSCU will be investigated by the CID, in relation to the ongoing case.
The SSCU came under scrutiny after the abductions of 31-year-old Kosma Rasin Lasith Chinthaka and 33- year- old Manjula Asela Kumara on January 23, which led to an investigation that revealed that both victims were abducted and murdered by policemen of the SSCU.