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Atulugama child murder: Suspect in girl’s death to be grilled for two days

31 May 2022

  • Court permits Police to detain for period
  • 29-year old suspect an Atulugama resident
A 29-year-old resident of the Atulugama area in Bandaragama was arrested yesterday (30) on suspicion of the death of the nine-year old girl who went missing from Atulugama area last week, and the Panadura Magistrate’s Court has granted permission for the Police to detain the suspect for two days for interrogation. Meanwhile, Police Media Spokesman Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and Attorney-at-Law (AAL) Nihal Thalduwa said that the autopsy had revealed that the victim had not been sexually abused or molested, adding that the postmortem examination on the body was conducted by three judicial medical officers. The autopsy had also revealed that water and mud entering her body from the nose and mouth could have been the main cause of the girl’s death, which is suspected to be homicidal drowning. The nine-year-old girl from Atulagama was first reported missing last Friday (27). Her mother told the media that the child had gone to the nearby shop to buy chicken. After one hour had passed without the child’s return, her mother had raised the alarm. Her body was discovered in a marshy land close to her home last Saturday (28).  The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) said on Sunday (29) that it had set up a special team to assist the Police in the investigations into the death of the nine-year-old, while SSP Thalduwa said that investigations had been handed over to the Homicide and Organised Crime Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). “The Police started investigations into the disappearance of the child when it was first reported last Friday (27). The NCPA’s special Police team supported and monitored the investigations,” NCPA Chairman Udayakumara Amarasinghe told The Morning on Sunday (29). “When we were preparing our own team to commence separate investigations last Saturday (28), we learnt that her body had been discovered. The Police are consistently informing us of the progress of the investigations. The Magistrate inquiry into the body has happened and the Judicial Medical Officer’s (JMO) report will confirm whether the cause of death was murder. We will also be able to then determine, based on the report, other signs of sexual and physical abuse, if any.”  He added that the NCPA will intervene with a separate team if it is unsatisfied with the speed of the investigations that are happening at the moment.  “We have a number of suspects already, and we believe that the child most likely knew the culprit and was associated closely with them,” he said.   Meanwhile, releasing a statement, Stop Child Cruelty Trust (SCC) Founder/Chairperson Dr. Tush Wickramanayaka raised concerns that this was the 14th child murdered within 20 months in Sri Lanka, and said that the SSC was extremely saddened to see sensitive images of the child victim’s body displayed on many media platforms. “Following the global principle of ‘in the best interest of the child (dead or alive)’ during the landmark case of murdered ‘Baby P’ in the UK in 2007, a gag order was declared until two years after the verdict was announced by court, preventing the exposure of the victim, siblings, and accused, in order to maintain impartial investigations and protecting the rights of all individuals. We are certain the NCPA can also obtain such a court order when dealing with victims of tragic cases of child abuse. “We appeal to all media persons and the public to act with utmost sensitivity when reporting on this tragic incident and avoid displaying images of the victim, always questioning empathetically, ‘what if this was my child?’,” said Wickramanayaka. “Section 365(C) of the Penal Code clearly states that divulging personal information and images of victims of rape, etc. is a punishable offense. We have repeatedly appealed to the NCPA – the most powerful institution for child welfare – to regularise media reporting on cases of child abuse/murder; no meaningful solutions have been formulated and no prosecutions have been initiated against those violating 365(C). “It is gut-wrenching that incidents of child abuse occur in many countries. However, being sensitive and empathetic about how such incidents are reported in mass media including social media, how society reacts, and how authorities act, is a measurement of the effectiveness of a country’s justice system and vibrant code of ethics. Sadly, Sri Lanka lags behind such progressive key indicators,” she observed.


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