By: Isuru Parakrama
Colombo (LNW): Lawyers of the National People’s Power (NPP) today (09) demanded the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to provide a full report on tear gas and water cannons used to disperse protesters under the Right to Information Act (RTI).
Accordingly, a letter comprising of a questionnaire to obtain details with regard to these items was handed over to the Police and further actions would be taken based on the report, said NPP Lawyer Sunil Watagala.
Revealing that they have reliable information on what they described as ‘expired’ tear gas canisters and ‘contaminated’ water being used to disperse protesters, Mr. Watagala emphasised that those who were exposed to tear gas have died during the past week, while others sustained complications.
Water used to disperse protestors, as confirmed by Ruling Party MP Sanath Nishantha, was taken from Beira Lake, he added, alleging the government of launching a mechanism of suppression by deploying security officers in numbers greater than the protesters themselves to block the road and dispersing them via fatally inhuman means.
Meanwhile, reports emerge that Public Security Minister Tiran Alles has been summoned to appear before the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) on Monday (13) to produce a statement over the action taken by the Police against the recent protesters.
