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| Sunday, 5 September 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Mini riot at Lunawa by Jayampathy Jayasinghe The mini riot that broke out suddenly at Lunawa last week between enraged mobs and the police which resulted in two policemen and six civilians being seriously injured and damage caused to a police jeep by the marauding mobs. With the deployment of additional mobile patrols in the area the police are keeping a watchful eye on the suspects to prevent a recurrence of the situation. However with the situation returning to normal the police have launched a full scale investigation to determine the cause of the riot and reason for a sudden unprovoked attack on the police. It has always been a routine for policemen stationed at Moratuwa and Mount Lavinia to visit trouble spots of Lunawa and Angulana daily to settle violent disputes among the fisherfolk that crop up suddenly. Angulana and Lunawa had always been a rough and tumble neighbourhood as far as the police are concerned. The fisherfolk always fought in the evenings after consuming alcohol and the policemen were well aware of it. The complaint reported by a caller to Moratuwa police station on Monday last week around 9.15 p.m. was somewhat unusual. It was about the arrest of a young man roaming about in Lunawa with grease smeared all over his body. The civic conscious people had arrested the man as he was suspected of being a streaker and a thief of women's clothing from residences in Lunawa. When the police arrived at the scene the suspect had been tied to a pole and given a severe lambasting by the people. However the police found there was no grease on his body. The young man had been a habitual loafer. The residents of Lunawa have been haunted by the spectre of naked young men with grease smeared on their bodies roaming about the place. The men were responsible for snatching gold necklaces of women garment workers who often return to their abode late in the evenings. Despite chains being snatched, the victims, seldom complain to the police for fear of reprisals. In fact the Moratuwa police arrested two sex perverts last week and are looking for three other suspects whom they allege are sex perverts. The men have been terrorising women by trespassing naked into residences with weapons. The gang is said to be operating in the Angulana area. The police were going to take the man into custody, when a large unruly crowd present on the occasion had vehemently objected to it. There was lingering resentment among the crowd that sympathised with the suspect. However, the simmering dispute between the police and the residents, led to a bitter argument which compelled the police to baton charge to disperse the unruly crowd. A mob then came forward to attack the police with swords and clubs. Some even fired at the police. Police too fired back injuring six persons. Meanwhile, the Police had to summon additional policemen to deal with the situation. A policeman and six persons who sustained injuries in the cross fire have been admitted to Panadura base hospital and the National Hospital Colombo for treatment. Further inquiries are being conducted by HQI Moratuwa Nimal Ratnayake under the directions of SSP, Mount Lavinia, Wille Abeynayake. |
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