The High Court Judge of Jaffna on Wednesday (May 3) sentenced 10 years of jail term to the six police personnel who were arrested in connection with the arrest, torture and murder of twenty eight year old Sri Skandaraja Sumanan.
Judge M Elancheliyan, the High Court Judge of Jaffna, delivered the sentence when they were found guilty of the murder.
In addition, each convict was ordered to pay Rs.25,000 fine, in failure of such payment they will have to spend another year in prison, the judge ruled.
Sri Skandaraja Sumanan was taken into custody by two persons in civilian dress who identified themselves as officers from the Police Intelligence Services. He was taken into custody at the junction of Punnaly Kattuwan, in front of a barber shop. He sat between the two officers on their motorcycle and was taken to the Jaffna Police Station.
Friends who heard about the incident went to the Jaffna Police Station to see him but they were told that he had been transferred to Chunnakan Police Station. When they went to that police station they could not find him.Later one of his relatives and the twenty seven year old brother of Sri Skandaraja Sumanan were told by the police that Sumanan was dead and to come to Kilinochchi and identify the body. The police stated that they found the body in a canal and that it was sent to the Polonnaruwa District Hospital for post mortem examination. The examination was held on November 26, 2011 and the burial was held on November 27th. At the post mortem about 40 injury marks were found and the relatives were of the view that they were caused by torture in police custody.
The police version was that Sumanan fled from police custody and had fallen into the canal where he drowned. The police also stated that Sumanan was wanted for several robberies in the area. This was denied by the relatives.
