News

Rights group questions continuing deaths in police custody

Published

5 years ago

2021/05/13

Sahan Weerasooriya

… asks whether the suspect in handcuffs at the time posed a threat to police

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Attorney-at-law Senaka Perera says that the death of persons taken into custody by the police cannot be justified under any circumstances.

Activist Perera questioned the circumstances in which Dinithi Melan alias Uru Juwa who had been arrested by the Nawagamuwa police on Monday (10) died of gunshot injuries on the following day.

The police couldn’t absolve themselves of the responsibility for the safety and security of those who had been taken into custody even if they were under investigation over criminal activities, lawyer Perera said.

Responding to The Island queries, the activist said that in spite of quite a number of deaths in police custody over the years those responsible never took tangible measures to prevent such incidents.

The Public Security Ministry owed an explanation how the person in the custody of the Nawagamuwa police had received gunshot injuries when he was taken to a place at Waduramulla, Nawagamuwa on Tuesday, lawyer Perera said. The suspect obviously in handcuffs couldn’t have posed a threat to the armed police party accompanying him, Perera said, urging the government to rein in the police behaving like an extra-judicial killer force.

Lawyer Perera said that the Justice Ministry, Public Security Ministry, the Office of the Attorney General, the National Police Commission, Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) should be concerned about continuing deaths in police custody.

The bottom line was the police bypassed the judicial process and summarily got rid of persons whom they considered a threat, the Attorney-at-Law said.

The civil society activist challenged DIG (Legal) and Attorney-at-Law Ajith Rohana’s version of the events leading to the death of Dinithi Melan.

Based on information provided by the Nawagamuwa police, DIG Rohana said that ‘Uru Juwa’ had been wanted in connection with at least four killings, about 20 cases of taking ransoms and a number of other incidents. The top police official said that ‘Uru Juwa’ had been responsible for incidents during the 2015-2019 period and was being taken by the police to Wanduramulla, where the police opened fire during an incident.

Later, the police recovered five swords, one locally made weapon, 38 rounds of T 56 ammunition, eight rounds of 9mm ammunition and six hand grenades, DIG Rohana said, adding that the suspect was pronounced dead on admission to the local hospital.

DIG Rohana said that Western Province (South) police were conducting an inquiry into the incident under the supervision of a Superintendent of Police.

Lawyer Perera said that a lawyer visited the late Dinithi Melan at the Nawagamuwa police and his arrest was also brought to the notice of Police Emergency and the HRCSL. Responding to another query, the rights activist said that the arrested person hadn’t been produced before a Magistrate.

Lawyer Perera challenged the police to reveal previous investigations conducted into deaths in police custody. According to him, Samarasinghe Arachchige Madush Lakshitha alias Makandure Madush was killed in what the police claimed a shootout between them and the underworld at Applewatte Housing scheme in Oct 2020. Following the incident, the police made the usual claim of recovering heroin and promised a thorough investigation, lawyer Perera pointed out. “We would like to know the outcome of the internal police inquiry into the Madush killing,” lawyer Perera said.

The police never explained how Madush having been in the custody of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) since May 5, 2019 suddenly led the CCD (Colombo Crime Division) to major heroin recoveries just few days of taking the suspect into their custody on Oct 16, 2020, lawyer Perera said. Madush was killed in questionable circumstances four days after the CID handed him over to the CCD, the lawyer alleged.

The human rights activist said that the Parliament should look into deaths in police custody. According to him, there had been a substantial number of deaths in police custody during the previous Rajapaksa administration as well. However, the change of government in January 2015 resulted in a change of the situation for the better, lawyer Perera said, urging the media, both print and electronic, to be cautious in the reportage of deaths in police custody.

Perera said that his organization didn’t oppose law enforcement authorities taking a tough stand on those accused of criminal activity. However, extra-judicial executions couldn’t be part of the police strategy meant to address organized crime, lawyer Perera said.

The possibility of various interested parties, including political elements using the police for ulterior purposes. The police shouldn’t undermine public confidence in them, the lawyer urged law enforcement authorities.

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Noritake Company Limited donates Rs. 20 million to the Government’s disaster relief programme

Published

3 hours ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

Noritake Company Limited of Japan has donated Rs. 20 million to the Government’s disaster relief programme.

The cheque was presented to Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya by the Managing Director of Noritake Lanka Porcelain (Pvt) Ltd, Mr. Kenji Obara, at the Parliament Complex on 18 December.

Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Chandana Abeyratne, Director and General Manager of Noritake Lanka Porcelain (Pvt) Ltd, Ms. Sujatha Egodagedara, and Assistant General Manager Captain M. M. Athula Rohan Senarath also participated in the event.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division].

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GovPay Concludes 2025 with Rs. 2 Billion in digital transactions, marking a major milestone in Sri Lanka’s digital transformation

Published

6 hours ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

GovPay, Sri Lanka’s Government Digital Payment Platform concluded the year 2025 by surpassing Rs. 2 billion in total digital transaction value, marking a major milestone in the country’s digital transformation journey. Notably, GovPay doubled its collections from Rs. 1 billion to Rs. 2 billion in just 45 days, reflecting rapid adoption, growing public trust, and strong institutional uptake across the public sector.

Since its official launch on 07 February 2025, GovPay has processed over 69,000 digital transactions, enabling payments for 3,372 government services across 215 government institutions. This accelerated growth underscores the increasing reliance on secure, convenient, and transparent digital payment mechanisms by both citizens and government institutions.

Implemented under the strategic leadership of the Ministry of Digital Economy, the Information Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) in collaboration with LankaPay, GovPay has emerged as a key pillar of Sri Lanka’s national digital public infrastructure. The platform plays a critical role in advancing financial inclusion, improving service efficiency, and strengthening transparency in public service delivery.

A key milestone in 2025 was the launch of the Online Traffic Fine Payment System through GovPay on 10 April 2025. Since its introduction, the system has facilitated over 50,000 digital traffic fine payments, generating more than Rs. 66 million in revenue. The service is currently operational across the Western, Southern, Northern, North Western, and North Central Provinces, including the Southern, Katunayake, and Central Expressways. While the island wide rollout planned for December 2025 was postponed due to adverse weather conditions and disaster-related challenges, ICTA, in coordination with the Sri Lanka Police and with the support of LankaPay, has agreed to complete the nationwide rollout in January 2026, with a landmark launch in the Central Province.

GovPay has continued to expand its reach across local authorities, including Divisional Secretariats, Municipal Councils, Urban Councils, and Pradeshiya Sabhas, significantly enhancing access to government services in citizens’ day-to-day activities. The platform has enabled digital transactions for all local authorities in the Northern Province and all Divisional Secretariats in the Southern Province, with a national target to digitize all local authorities by 2026.

Institutions such as Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka Police, the Department of Technical Education and Training, the University of Moratuwa, and the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board emerged as some of the highest contributors to GovPay in 2025. Strong adoption by the education sector in particular highlights the readiness of younger generations to embrace digital transformation and demonstrates the platform’s scalability and reliability.

Beyond routine government services, GovPay also supported national disaster response efforts. Since 30 November 2025, the platform facilitated digital donations to the Rebuild Sri Lanka Disaster Relief Fund, collecting almost Rs. 14 million across 909 transactions, including contributions from Sri Lankans living abroad, ensuring transparency and ease of contribution during a national emergency.

As GovPay continues to grow, ICTA is working on revamping www.govpay.lk with enhanced features to support institutional onboarding, service management, and reporting capabilities. With Rs. 2 billion in digital collections achieved within its first year of operation and the last Rs. 1 billion reached in just 45 days, GovPay stands as a strong testament to the impact of coordinated digital transformation, reinforcing Sri Lanka’s vision of achieving a USD 15 billion digital economy by 2030.

News

Swift restoration of Religious, Cultural and Archaeological sites damaged by the disaster

Published

6 hours ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

A discussion on the restoration of religious, cultural and archaeological sites affected by Cyclone Ditwah was held on Thursday (18) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat under the patronage of the Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, with the participation of the Most Venerable Mahanayaka Theras of the three Chapters and other religious leaders.

Addressing the meeting, the Minister stated that more than one thousand religious, cultural and archaeological sites across the country had sustained damage due to the disaster. He assured that prompt measures would be taken to commence restoration work and reinstate these sites to their original condition without delay.

The Minister further stated that all restoration work is expected to be carried out while preserving the historical and cultural authenticity of the sites, under the guidance of the Most Venerable Maha Sangha and other religious leaders, with the active participation of all relevant stakeholders.

The Secretary to the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Prince Senadheera, noted that arrangements are currently underway to mobilize the required human resources and financial assistance for the restoration process. He also stated that steps have been initiated to recruit the necessary technical officers on a contractual basis to conduct technical assessments of the affected sites. In addition, plans are in place to involve officials of the Ministry as well as officers of its affiliated institutions in carrying out these restoration activities.

The Secretary to the Ministry further stated that generous financial contributions from donors are currently being received to the fund established under the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs for the reconstruction of damaged religious places of worship.

The meeting also considered continuing the gathering as an interfaith committee to oversee the restoration activities. Accordingly, it was agreed that the progress of construction work would be regularly reported to the committee and that the committee would be entrusted with mobilizing support for the fund in a transparent manner, including assistance from foreign donors, international organizations, Buddhist organizations and other religious institutions.

It was noted that the Central Cultural Fund has identified eight sites that were severely damaged by the disaster and are difficult to restore through conventional construction methods, requiring the specialized expertise of archaeologists, mural conservation specialists, and architects. The cost of restoring these sites has been estimated at over Rs. 500 million.

It was further decided that the committee would meet once a month to review and discuss the progress of these restoration activities.

Religious leaders commended the Government’s intervention in providing relief to those affected by the disaster and in restoring livelihoods, expressing appreciation for the effective management of the response. They also praised the Government’s prompt action in initiating restoration work at damaged religious sites.

The event was attended by several eminent religious leaders, including the Registrar of the Asgiri Maha Viharaya, Venerable Dr. Medagama Dhammananda Nayaka Thero; the Registrar General of the Amarapura Siri Saddhammawansa Maha Nikaya, Venerable Balapitiye Siri Seevali Nayaka Thero; the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya, Venerable Attangane Sasanarathana Nayaka Thero; the Chief Secretary of the All-Ceylon Shasanarakshaka Board, Venerable Professor Mugunuwela Anuruddha Nayaka Thero; and the Tri-Nikaya Maha Sangha, led by the Chairman of the National Bhikkhu Front, Venerable Wakamulle Uditha Thero.

Also in attendance were Hindu religious leaders, including Venerable Swami Aksharatmananda, representatives of the Catholic Church and the National Christian Council, including Father Alec Roy Samantha Fernando, All-Ceylon Muslim religious leaders, including the General Secretary of the Jamiatul Ulama Organization, Ash-Sheikh Arkam Nooramith, Deputy Minister of Religious and Cultural Affairs, Mohamed Muneer , as well as senior officials of the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs and relevant line institutions.