SL court orders arrest of 22 cops over assault on revellers

A Sri Lankan court today ordered the arrest of 22 policemen including two senior officers following an outcry over alleged police brutality on revellers at a party during which a man was pushed to death from a building.
The magistrate at Embilipitiya in the south western region ordered Investigations Department (CID) to arrest the former Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), the Headquarters Inspector (HQI) of Embilipitiya and 20 others policemen allegedly involved in the incident.
A CCTV footage which has been widely circulated on social media, showed a group of policemen dragging out youngters from a mid night house party to the streets and then beating them with batons on January 5.

In the incident, a 31-year-old man died after an assistant superintendent allegedly pushed him from the top floor of a building, the victim's wife alleged.
Police had claimed that the man had attacked them when they visited the party to stop loudspeakers after midnight as it was causing disturbance to the residents.
But after several witnesses came out and the CCTV footage emerged, police chief N K Illangakoon ordered an investigation into the incident which found that police had fabricated evidence to cover up their alleged brutality.