Drug addict who hanged himself in police cell did not attend SJB rally

By Saman Indrajith

Public Security Minister Rear Admiral (retd.) Sarath Weerasekera told Parliament yesterday that SJB members’ allegation that the police had arrested and beaten to death a youth who attended Tuesday’s SJB protest was a blatant lie.

“The victim’s name was Indika Jayaratne. He was a 37-year-old resident of Panamure. He was a drug addict and the police had received complaints that he was constantly abusing his wife and children.

“On 12 Nov. the man’s daughter had lodged a complaint with the police that he had beaten her with a club. She later was admitted to hospital and still undergoing treatment. The man went into hiding and the police were looking for him.

“Around 10.30 pm on Tuesday the police were able to capture the suspect. That means he had no link to the SJB rally. He was in the police cell. Around 3.30 am today the policemen on duty noticed that the suspect was hanging by his neck using his shirt in the cell. He was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead on admission ,” Minister Weerasekera said.

The Minister said that there was no connection between him and Tuesday’s SJB protest and added that the allegation made against the police was a blatant lie.