On 26.11.1996 the petitioner made a complaint to the 3rd respondent (OIC,
Dankotuwa Police) regarding a commercial transaction. On the evening of that
day, the 1st respondent police constable met the petitioner at the Dankotuwa Public
Market and threatened to teach him a “good lesson”. The next day, the 1st
respondent and another police officer (the 2nd respondent) arrested the petitioner
at the Dankotuwa Public Market and took him to the police station. Thereafter
the 1st respondent assaulted the petitioner with hands, kicked him and also beat
him with a belt. The petitioner was then handcuffed, taken to the Dankotuwa
junction in a private bus and paraded there and brought back to the police station,
where he was confined in a cell. The 1st respondent again assaulted the petitioner.
A Deputy Minister visited the police station immediately and obtained the release
of the petitioner. The 1st respondent’s defence was that he arrested the petitioner
for riding a motor cycle without a helmet, a driving licence and insurance and
for obstructing the 1st respondent in the performance of his official duties. Medical
evidence disclosed injuries on the petitioner caused by a blunt weapon.
