• MP didn’t visit Police station due to fear for his life

Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles yesterday (3) called for a report into the incident where Tamil National People’s Front Parliamentarian Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam’s life had allegedly been threatened by a Police officer at gunpoint.

When contacted, Minister Alles downplayed the allegations that MP Ponnambalam had been assaulted and stated that a report into the incident had been requested.

Alles also pointed out that the Police had not received any complaints regarding such an incident. 

“I am not certain that there was an assault; there is a video of the incident,” Alles added.

Meanwhile, Ponnambalam told The Sunday Morning that he had reported the incident to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka’s branch in Jaffna.

“An individual claiming to be a Police officer assaulted me while I was involved in a meeting with a sports club in Jaffna. Then another Police officer in Police sportswear loaded and aimed his pistol at me. I have already lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka,” Ponnambalam told The Sunday Morning.

When asked if he had reported the matter to the Police and the Speaker, MP Ponnambalam said that he would report the matter to the Speaker when Parliament commenced, but had not gone to the Police station because he feared for his life. 

“A senior Police officer arrived on the scene soon after and dismissed the matter, stating it was not a serious issue. He then requested that I come with them to the Police station – the same station that he said the officers involved in the attack were a part of. I was not willing to risk my safety, so I did not go to the Police station and instead demanded that he conduct an inquiry at the site where there were witnesses.”

Ponnambalam explained that two individuals in civilian clothing had arrived on a motorbike to the grounds where he had been addressing a meeting with members of a sports club.

When those at the meeting had inquired who the individuals were, they had responded stating that they were intelligence officers of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID).

“My research officer had asked for their identities, at which point one of them informed him that they were CID intelligence officers. When I heard this being said, I approached the two individuals and asked them to produce their official identification, which they refused to do. They also insisted that there was no reason for them to show their IDs and that the meeting we were carrying out was illegal.”

He said that after refusing to show their identification, one of the individuals had attempted to flee, prompting him to give chase, but that he had then been assaulted.

“In the course of that conversation one officer attempted to leave the area. I pursued him and continued to ask him for his identity. When he tried to move away I tried to apprehend him, which was when he began to run.”

The MP said that two Police officers had then arrived and demanded the release of the plain-clothed individuals and went on to aim a pistol at him.

“The other individual was surrounded and whilst we were trying to get him to show his identity another two individuals from across the fence, which was a school premises, came out. One was in a Police uniform, the other was in Police sports attire. They shouted across the fence saying that those individuals were Police officers and to let them go. 

“When I said that I needed to see their IDs to ensure who they were because they acted in a suspicious way, the officer in sports uniform across the fence began to shout abuse in foul language, at which point I stopped engaging with them and continued to try and get the identity of the officer that we had managed to apprehend. The officer concerned resisted identifying himself and the sports club members began to shout, saying that the officer across the fence in the sports uniform had taken out his pistol and was pointing it at me,” Ponnabalam charged.