Following a complaint that a 15-year-old child has been beaten and harassed for four years and he has not been provided with proper nutrition and care. The Peliyagoda Police has arrested a soldier along with the soldier’s wife and the child’s mother on suspicion on Monday.
They were released on a surety bail of Rs.1 mn by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court No.5 yesterday.
Police say that the soldier and his wife are residents of Kelaniya, Dippitigoda and the child’s mother is a resident of 06th mile post in the Kandy Road.
Police investigations have revealed that the child’s father abandoned the child when he was very young and the mother remarried after that.
The child’s mother lived with the mother’s second husband in an annex built next to the soldiers house.
Police say that the investigation revealed that the second husband of the woman did not like the child to be with the mother and when they left the annex and went to another rented house. The child had been handed over to the soldier’s wife.
The soldier’s wife as well as the soldier had accepted this child on the promise of sending him to school and taking care of him.
The police say that after handing over the child to the couple, the mother had not inquired about his well-being.
Police say that the child has been tortured and was forced to do all the work in the house including cleaning vehicles and washing clothes.
The police say that the child had been sent to a school in Kelaniya from time to time. The child has informed the teachers of the school several times about the harassment he is facing.
Recently this child had told his teachers that he would kill himself because he could not tolerate the harassment.
The police say that the class teacher, had informed the principal and he had taken steps to inform the National Child Protection Authority which had lodged a complaint with the police.
by dailynews sri lanka
, Security, ,