by AJA Abeynayake
Colombo Chief Magistrate Nandana Amarasinghe on Friday (02) dismissed a private complaint that sought an order to arrest Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon and present him to court on the charge of dereliction of duty as regards the incidents near Temple Trees and at Galle Face on 09 May.
The Magistrate decided that the case against the respondent could not be maintained as the facts placed before the court were insufficient to substantiate the complaint, and thus dismissed this personal complaint.
The complaint was by Syed Mohammad Niaz Mawlana, a businessman, who was attacked and seriously injured in the “Maina Go Home Gama” protest in front of Temple Trees. It was presented to the court by his lawyer Achala Senaviratne, on 11 May.
The complainant stated that he had been severely beaten and injured in the incident and admitted to hospital, and if the former Senior DIG Tennakoon, who was in charge of the Western Province, had performed his duties properly, he would not have been safe.