It is wrong for the Sri Lanka police department to appoint ASP Meryl Ranjan Lamahewa as the supervising officer of an investigation against SSP (Rtd) Shani Abeysekara, says human rights lawyer Ramani Muttetuwegama.
The former Commissioner of National Human Rights Commission also recalls how human rights activists protested against when police officers, whose family members were killed or threatened by the JVP, were appointed to investigate against the JVP.
Ramani Muttetuwegama made these remarks when ‘Sandeshaya by Saroj’ YouTube channel pointed out that it was SSP Shani Abeysekara who conducted investigations into the Welikada prison massacre.
ASP Meryl Ranjan Lamahewa’s brother, former prison commissioner Emil Ranjan Lamahewa, was sentenced to death following a lengthy court hearing.
Even if ASP Meryl Ranjan Lamahewa conducts a very impartial investigation, says Ms Muttettuwegama, the public wouldn’t trust it as there is not enough “distance.”
