Another notorious underworld gang member met his death while in Police custody under what has become very familiar circumstances.
Palankada Heen Mali alias Palankada Heena was arrested at Hikkaduwa on March 10 over the killing of a gem merchant from Rathnapura. The Police Spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana claimed yesterday that the suspect was taken to show some hidden weapons on 11 March and he attempted to lodge a grenade at the Police at which point he was shot and killed.
Wijeweera
Heena becomes the latest of a number of underworld members who have been shot while attempting lob grenades at the Police en route to showing hidden weapons caches. Merely four months ago in December 2013, four suspects alleged to have been involved in the killing of a police constable and his wife also died under similar circumstances. On that instance the first suspect who was handcuffed and taken to show the police where weapons were hidden, produced a gun and fired at the police and was killed in retaliation; the second, where two handcuffed suspects suddenly jumped into the river in an attempt to flee from the police; and the last where the chief suspect, hiding in the Naigala forest, threw a hand grenade and was killed when police, searching for him, fired in his direction.
Incidentally Police in 1989 said that JVP leader Rohana Wijeweera had also tried to fire a hidden weapon before being shot dead. Though never officially acknowledged later it was revealed that Wijeweera had been shot in the head while in Police custody and thrown in to the incinerator at the Borella cemetery.
Bruz / March 13, 2014
Oh..come on guys Ajith Rohana and Ruwan Wanigasooraya…Are you guys not tired of repeating this same story over and over..Make up another good and a believable one for a change. Because we are tired of your c**k & Bull…
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Punakku recycler / March 13, 2014
I’m more tired of these drug dealers running free in the country. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
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Palmsquirrell / March 13, 2014
Everyone’s rights are compromised if you support extra judicial punishment for some.
People should have the opportunity to defend themselves in a court of law .
If the person is guilty as the government claims, there would be no trouble for the government to make its case.
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Kamal / March 13, 2014
As if your sun goat gave all these privileges to all of you and to the rest of the country where he unleashed his pathetic suicide killers !
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Palmsquirrell / March 13, 2014
Your response has no bearing or relevance on the article.
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Robert.R / March 13, 2014
Thats why the “sun goat” was called a terrorist and not a democratically elected government LOL
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Native Vedda / March 14, 2014
Camel
“As if your sun goat gave all these privileges to all of you and to the rest of the country where he unleashed his pathetic suicide killers !”
In case if you have just woken up, LTTE was wiped out almost five years ago. The country is being ruled by the clan not by sun goat. Sun goat was hacked to dead by the armed forces.
Therefore sun goat is not a good excuse for the clan to continue to violate law of the land.
Please go back to your extended sleeping mode.
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Palmsquirrell / March 14, 2014
So you are stating that GOSL/Rajapaksa regime is same as VP.
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SUN / March 13, 2014
Ajith Rohana´s bed pan like mouth is made to believe people.
He goes on saying the same supportedly to regime.
May be he is promised of being posted to be one of the next ambassadors soon. HA HAH.. this is STUPID MAHIND RAJAPASKEH vision….
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Ben Hurling / March 15, 2014
Sri Lanka Police is nation’s largest criminal network. It is also the most corrupt organisation in the country.
Soory to admit as a Sri Lankan. Embarrassing!
Ajith Rohana is given a high rank in the Police to utter shameful lies to the nation. Making us laugh.
Cheers!
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We the People / March 13, 2014
This is the kind of stuff that our old manic friend David Blacker will heartily endorse. Kind of like the disgraceful massacres at Welikada a couple of years ago when several dozen prisoners with the potential to cause embarrassment to the regime were shamefully wiped out on the pretext that they had ‘broken into’ the armoury and ‘taken to arms’.
This is another shocking episode of extra-judicial killing that must be included in the list of outrages placed at the door of the regime and its blind, armed and dangerous followers.
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moji / March 13, 2014
The Police cant do anything. Government organised crime
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Navin / March 13, 2014
GOSL should use drones to shoot underworld gangsters. That’s the only way accepted by all leading human rights action groups and independent western media that does not require first following proper legal procedures before killing someone. If Mahinda/Gota want to maintain a kill list like Obama they also must use American technology to execute “insurgents”.
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Maveeran / March 13, 2014
GOSL can’t afford drones and even if they did manage to get one, they are too dumb to operate it. Don’t you know that Sinha-lames are a laughing stock to the whole world.
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Palmsquirrell / March 13, 2014
When and where have leading human rights groups and Western media ever supported extra judicial killing of gangsters?
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Native Vedda / March 13, 2014
Navin
“GOSL should use drones to shoot underworld gangsters.”
Then the government should start drone attack on its own Parliament, half the cabinet, three forth of the MPs,………………
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Unity / March 13, 2014
Doesn’t matter how this underworld kingpin died, he killed enough.
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Lapatiya / March 13, 2014
Our Police Dept. Doesn’t have creative Police Officers to create different stories instead of repeating the same story again and again. There is nothing wrong repeating the same story as long as our Independent Judiciary accepts such Story’s. The Problem is General Public looking for new story’s such as “Kangatta’s” story, Journalist Mel killer, Painters story, Negambo Roice’s Helmet Story. Actually those are very good stories created by DIG Anura Senanayaka.
If Mr. Ajith Rohana needs we can give some Ideas without charges such as Suspect suddenly fell down and died, Suspect died with Headache, Suspect hanged himself with nothing.
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SIRI / March 13, 2014
This is made to be no achievement, if thinking that the infuriated people see nothing is done against Mervin allowing him scot free living – though hearts of people are well aware of factful incidents for which he has to be made very responsible is the saddest reality.
Even allow the man to speak for the nation – is gone beyond all bearing. Today, he speaks for the nation – threatening country´s minister of justice as saying if go against, the consequences will be similar to that of Prabakaran,who was brutally killed by the govt forces in the war tail end in 2009.
So the world should see the dangerous state of current administration.
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Ajith / March 13, 2014
Our President always say that our soldiers carry human rights charter in one hand and other hand with the gun. It may be the same with Sri Lankan police. Unfortunately, both soldiers and police personal brain only carry the orders from Rajapakse’s are to kill.
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Niran Wirasinha / March 13, 2014
After having heard these fairy tales ‘ad nauseum’ over a long period of time, one does not expect any creativity, as some commentators have suggested, nor any better conduct from the Sri Lanka Police who obviously have received their ‘orders from the top’.
What I am flummoxed about is the complete apathy and meekness of the magistrates before whom I believe evidence is led in the case of any death by accident, suicide or violence.
Are there no members of the judiciary with backbone even to ask a few probing questions from these story tellers and to shame them ?
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Niran Wirasinha / March 13, 2014
After having heard these fairy tales ‘ad nauseum’ over a long period of time, one does not expect any creativity, as some commentators have suggested, nor any better conduct from the Sri Lanka Police who obviously have received their ‘orders from the top’.
What I am flummoxed about is the complete apathy and meekness of the magistrates before whom I believe evidence is led in the case of any death by accident, suicide or violence.
Are there no members of the judiciary with backbone even to ask a few probing questions from these story tellers and to shame them ?
NiranW
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Priya / March 13, 2014
This is all about breaking down of law and order.We cannot afford double standards when it comes to human rights.The policy should be uniform and fair for everybody.So far the pattern we showed was we are silent or ignorant when the issues work favourably or neutrally for us and we raise concern only when it affects us individually. The same abusers we praise as Heroes when the circumstances change.As a country to move forward we should break these barriers to raise our heads high and shout out ” Look, we need our country upholding proper democratic values ensuring each and every citizens human rights .When this all become selective according to majority or minority wishes,the situation always get muddy and complex.We stagnate or go backward and loose direction as a country or as a nation sadly.
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Sun / March 13, 2014
it is the corrupted nature of the leader himself Mahinda Raja -pada-pakshe – without making any foundations to allow these criminals to get caught, nothing will change- SIMPLE logic for any sane ones, but apparently not to him and his administration.
Initial foundation is to allow Independent police commission through reimplementation of 17AMD.
House without proper foundation will not last – perhaps will last so long the surrounding would see no other options.
I wish if anyone of their bunch would have guts to make this clear this MOST STUPID man, in order to save innocient not being caught to criminals and loss their lives.
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RASIKA / March 13, 2014
WHAT SORT OF STUPID LAW IN THIS CORRUPT COUNTRY HAVING CURRENTLY TODAY . POLICE WAS UNABLE TO ARREST AND PROSECUTE THIS MAN AFTER HE HAD DINE MANY MURDERS, RAPE AND ROBBERIES.POLICE HAVE SIMPLY IGNORE ALL THIS FOR LONG TIME SIMPLY FOR POLITICAL PRESSURE.WHERE IS LAW AND ORDER IN THIS UNDERWORLD COUNTRY WHEN SO MANY INNOCENT PEOPLE HAVE DIED FOR NO REASON. WHEN OUR CRIMINAL UNDERWORLD RAJA CROOK IS BEING PROTECTED AND DEFEND BY FORCE OVER 3000 SECURITY PERSONAL WHEN SO MANY ORDINARY CITIZENS ARE DYING EVERY DAY AND COVER UP BY THESE CRIMINAL RAJA HORU.
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justice / March 13, 2014
In many other countries,there are independent bodies of persons to probe deaths of persons in custody of police,with powers to summon witnesses,hold formal inquiries and report findings to the relevant minister – who decides about further action in a court of law.
Earlier,as reported,when a magistrate remanded policemen who alleged that a suspect had jumped out of a moving police jeep and died,the higher court freed them on the premise that noone had seen what happened and thus the police version of events had to be accepted.
This verdict has clearly emboldened the police.
Any suspect is always handcuffed when taken on such a ‘mission’ by police,and knowing events during previous similar instances – according to police – the police should have searched the alleged ‘cache’ of weapons themselves.
This is clearly an extrajudicial execution as happened on previous similar instances and accepted as a true course of events by the magistrate – as such deaths are always inquired into.
The government clearly does not wish to interfere to ensure justice,as now the police function to ‘punish’ political demonstraters against the government.
This is one element of injustice in a police cum military state – to which level,the nation has sunk.
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Park / March 13, 2014
Any person who is arrested for any reason is not GUILTY until proven guilty in a court of law. If a person is arrested then its the IGP and the Justice Minister who are responsible for this person as the person is under custody and cannot act as he or she was free. So if every so called notorious criminals who are under custody are killed in the same way, when they are about to show where they have hidden their weapons, this demands another INDEPENDENT PUBLIC INQUIRY. Its time for UN Human Rights Commission to add this also to the resolution. This inquiry should be strictly against the IGP and Minister of Justice.
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Citizen4democracy / March 13, 2014
BASTARDIZED POLICE.
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shankar / March 15, 2014
The police should before taking these fellows to look for hidden arms,must give them some training in how to take the pin out.
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