The Sri Lankan High Commission, in the United Kingdom, has rejected, what it described as “malicious allegations” contained in a new Channel 4 documentary scheduled to be aired tomorrow, saying the programme seeks to falsely implicate members of the Sri Lankan government and senior military officials.

In a statement issued ahead of the broadcast of Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished, the High Commission has said the film focuses on “a number of highly spurious and uncorroborated allegations,” while ignoring the country’s post-conflict progress and reconciliation efforts.

The documentary, which is due to air during the ongoing session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, reportedly contains footage that Channel 4 claims shows the body of Balachandran Prabhakaran, the son of late LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, during the final stages of Sri Lanka’s civil war, in May, 2009.

According to a report published by the British newspaper The Independent, the footage depicts a 12-year-old boy lying on the ground with gunshot wounds to his chest. The report claimed that Balachandran had been “executed in cold blood” and that the bodies of five men, believed to be his bodyguards, were found nearby.

Channel 4 has reportedly stated that in addition to the video footage, it has obtained a series of high-resolution still images from the scene which were examined by forensic pathologist Professor Derrick Pounder to assess the possible cause of death.

The documentary is a sequel to Channel 4’s earlier Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields investigation, which alleged that both Sri Lankan government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during the final phase of the conflict.

Rejecting the latest allegations, the Sri Lankan High Commission said the documentary attempts “entirely falsely” to implicate government representatives and senior military figures. It has further stated that the programme has chosen to overlook the “many positive post-conflict developments” that have taken place in Sri Lanka since the end of the war in 2009.

A 53-year-old woman was arrested by the Central Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) following the seizure of bundles of counterfeit US$100 notes with a face value of US$700,000 during a raid in Kotikawatta.

The arrest was made at the suspect’s residence earlier yesterday in connection with an investigation into an alleged counterfeit currency operation.

Investigators suspect that the counterfeit notes were printed overseas and smuggled into Sri Lanka. Police further stated that a Pakistani national is also believed to be linked to the racket and is currently under investigation.

According to police, the suspects allegedly used the counterfeit US dollar notes to deceive local businessmen and were preparing to exchange the fake currency at a rate of Rs. 284 per US dollar.

The suspect is scheduled to be produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court No. 8 today.

Investigations are continuing to identify other individuals connected to the alleged counterfeit currency network.

By Norman Palihawadane

Police Headquarters has launched an investigation into a complaint lodged by family members of a man currently receiving treatment at the Kalubowila Teaching Hospital following alleged torture while in police custody.

The complainants have alleged that the victim, a resident of Badowita in Mount Lavinia, was severely assaulted and subjected to electric shock by a Sub-Inspector attached to the Mount Lavinia Police Station after being taken into custody.

According to the complaint, the man and his wife were arrested while walking to a nearby shop close to their home and were later detained separately. The family further alleges that police attempted to force the man to admit possession of heroin.

They claim that following his refusal, he was assaulted at the police station and later subjected to electric shock torture, after which he collapsed and was subsequently admitted to the Kalubowila Hospital by police.

Police Headquarters sources said a special team of officers has been appointed to investigate the incident.

It is also alleged that the victim had circulated a video recording in which the said Sub-Inspector is seen demanding protection money from a spa in the area. Police Headquarters sources further said that complaints had previously been received against the officer concerned.

It is further alleged that the same Sub-Inspector had been involved in a road traffic accident several weeks back but no proper investigation had been conducted into the incident so far.