A youth who attacked a police officer in Divulapitiya .... dies

Scenes taken earlier on road, before death ....
of police aiming pistol
Sometime back a dialogue took place over the topic of 'minimum police powers' in connection with assaulting of health-work protesters. Subsequently news was reported of an incident where a person of Pasyala died in vain over a police gunshot. Now a young man has died as a result of police shooting.

A short while before that shooting took place, a person travelling in a vehicle was able to capture on video a rare sight of the said police officer connected to the incident aiming a pistol. It was learned that at this spot the policeman had shot a certain youth and after the shooting the victim who was injured was admitted to Divulapitiya District Hospital and that later he had passed away. A story that he had tried to stab the police also was heard.

It was understood that a police officer who received injuries in this incident was admitted to Divulapitiya District Hospital and later had been transferred to Gampaha General Hospital.

The youth who died from police shooting is S.M. Kelum Subhasingha, a resident of Divulapitiya in Bandarawela, aged 19 years.

What the Police Media Spokesman said about this is that once all evidence is recorded, further investigations would be directed.

That an inquiry was conducted under a DIG of Negombo and that the 19 year old deceased S.M. Kelum Subhasingha living in Barawawila area, Divulapitiya .... when coming back home after attending a wedding last afternoon with his elder brother has had an exchange of words with a person at Divulapitiya, Barawawila Junction, it is said.

The shooting incident has taken place after 2 officers of Traffic Section, Divulapitiya had come to that spot that moment.

What the Police Media Spokesman said yesterday was that when this youth was trying to beat a retreat after stabbing a person with a sharp instrument the police had attempted to take the youth concerned into custody. He further said that at that point the suspect had tried to cause harm to the police officers also on which occasion he was shot at.

Kelum Subhasingha having been injured after the shooting was admitted to Divulapitiya District Hospital subsequent to which he succumbed to his injuries.

Further investigations in relation to the incident are being conducted.

The video of the Sirasa YouReporter taken in relation to the incident while travelling on the road, from BELOW