Information about Wennappuwa underground torture chamber .. leaks out -- soles of feet nailed; soles split and salt-pepper inserted!!

Information about Wennappuwa underground torture chamber .. leaks out -- soles of feet nailed; soles split and salt-pepper inserted!!

"Ran Chamara, alleged to be an accomplice of 'Olu Mara', a criminal gang leader who is supposed to have maintained a torture chamber in a house in Wennappuwa Sirigampola Colony has been taken into custody on suspicion by a posse of policemen of Wennappuwa police day before yesterday (30). The person so apprehended on suspicion is a resident of Sirigampola Colony. 

This suspect has had in his possession 2 grams and 200 milligrams of heroin, police say. Olu Mara,
leader of the criminal gang who was in operation in Wennappuwa area was in fact arrested on suspicion with heroin in his possession and after being produced before court is presently in remand custody. When perusing picture frames in the modern type mobile phone of Oru Mara the leader of the criminal gang, information about the referred to torture camp has come to light and it was seen that this person called Ran Chamara who was apprehended day before yesterday on suspicion indulging in participating in activities of torture as was observed in the photo-clips, police say. A senior police officer remarked that the suspect (Ran Chamara) was identified through those photos and was thus arrested. 

Police further say that about another 7 of Olu Mara's gang were identified on examining those photo-clips as having detained young men at the torture camp in Sirigampola house after being abducted and were being subjected to torture. This senior police officer mentioned that a search operation is underway for these seven individuals who have fled the area. 

Several criminal cases are presently being heard at Chilaw supreme court and Marawila magistrate court on charges against Ran Chamara who was arrested on suspicion day before yesterday with heroin in his person for being involved in a case of homicide, assaulting some people and dealing in heroin, police revealed. He was arrested by a special team of policemen of Wennappuwa police headquarters who were directed by Wennappuwa assistant superintendent of police, Mr. Eric Perera. A person who is alleged to have criticised this criminal gang was kidnapped by Olu Mara's gang and was detained at the Sirigampola torture camp and it was revealed that police investigations that his hands were tied up and that nails were inserted to soles of his feet, police say. 

The person who was responsible for  the above act has been already identified by police. It is understood that for fear of Olu Mara and his gang, he has not come forward so far on complaining about this to police. It is understood that police have come to know that during the period when this incident happened, this victim has sought medical treatment for wounds that have occured as a result of his soles being nailed ... all the while covering up reasons for the wounds. It was revealed across police news sources that soles of feet of several persons who were abducted were split and salt and pepper inserted into those cracks and thus subjected to inhuman torture inside the Sirigampola torture chamber. For fear of this criminal gang, none of the victims have dared complaining about it to police. Police have thus taken steps to find out information regarding persons who were so tortured and summon them to police for interrogation purposes. Police sources further say that persons who have provided secret information to police too were so subject to brutal punishment for having complained against Olu Mara's gang. Police were able to find a series of photos in this mobile phone of a young person who is supposed to have cheated a sum of approximately Rs. 1,2,000 and brought to the torture cell and was made to kneel down and was ordered to keep his arms raised up. Police further say that a voice cut was detected in the mobile phone where a pledge was demanded by Olu Mara from this person asking him to pay back that money from whom the money was taken and to promise that he would not in future get involved in such a financial fraud and all this was carried out while being tortured. 

Police in addition exposed information that Olu Mara and his gang were upto activities such as people being checked with barriers being erected in the night; assaulting unidentified persons arriving in Sirigampola Colony at night-time and extracting 'kappam' from them in the process. Police further state that the gang had been holding a sword in one hand and while dragging it along the ground.

- Shrinath Prasanna Jayasuriya -