Police focus special attention on abductions

by Ananda KANNANGARA

The police has paid special attention on abductions in various places in the country and warned the public to be more vigilant over perpetrators who visit their houses at any time of the day. According to the police, various types of abductions are being reported due to personal reasons or to demand ransoms.

Police media spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana told the Sunday Observer that if any individual or a group of persons visits a household even in official uniform to take any member in for questioning, he or she should contact the police on 119 or seek advice from the nearest police station.

He said the police has not deployed any official take any person out of their homes by force for questioning and cautioned people to refrain from leaving their premises under such circumstances.

The SSP, however said that unlike in the past, there is a sharp decline in the number of abductions in the country due to several precautionary measures, being taken by police stations.

According to an incident reported from Galle a few months ago, a group of persons had visited a residence and asked the chief occupant of the house, a teacher to accompany them to the police station to give evidence in a certain case.

However, when the teacher promptly contacted the police on 119, the callers vanished.