The Matara Magistrate’s Court has released on personal bail the chairman of the National People’s Power-controlled Kirinda Puhulwella Pradeshiya Sabha and four council officials, arrested over allegations that they unlawfully detained and harassed a woman and her son at the council’s own premises.
The five were arrested by Thihagoda Police and produced before the magistrate, who ordered their release after hearing submissions from both sides, The Island reported and Hiru News reported. The Island puts the arrests on Thursday 22 October and says they were made on allegations that included the misuse of legal and political authority.
A boundary wall
Both filings trace the case to a dispute over a wall on Wadigawatta Road in Kirinda. A technical officer attached to the same Pradeshiya Sabha, who lives on a neighbouring property, built part of a wall at his own discretion. The Island adds that the structure allegedly blocked the complainants’ vehicle access to their own home.
The council chairman then summoned the two complainants to the council premises over the legality of the construction. Once there, they say they were confined to a room and subjected to physical and mental harassment, and they complained to Thihagoda Police.
Where the filings differ
The two accounts are consistent on the court, the police station, the five suspects, the location and the personal bail order, but they diverge on detail in two places.
Who the complainants are. Hiru describes them only as a woman and her son. The Island identifies them as a retired female teacher and her son, an engineer — which is also what makes its account of the blocked vehicle access coherent.
The Human Rights Commission’s role. The Island says the chairman summoned the pair to discuss the construction’s legality and to prepare a report for the Human Rights Commission. Hiru’s Sinhala has the chairman summoning them while stating that a notification had already been made to the commission. The difference matters: one version has the council preparing a submission, the other has it responding to a complaint already lodged. Neither filing resolves it.
Not reported
Neither filing names the chairman or the four officials, gives the bail conditions or the next court date, or reports any response from the suspects or from the NPP. Neither says whether the council has suspended the officials, nor what has happened to the wall itself.
A note on sourcing: Ada Derana also filed on the bail order, but the domain has been returning a CloudFront 403 to this desk for roughly five weeks, so no publication date could be extracted for it and it is not cited.
Sources: NPP PS Chairman, four others, granted bail — The Island, October 24, Five including Kirinda Puhulwella Pradeshiya Sabha chairman arrested over wall issue granted bail — Hiru News, October 24.