“Innocence Buried: The Price of a False Charge”

It was a public outcry soaked in private grief—a city whispered with shame.

As many as 25 individuals arrested by Dehiwala and Kohuwala police on drug possession charges, including heroin and methamphetamine (‘ice’), have now been officially cleared of wrongdoing. The substances they were accused of carrying? Not drugs at all, according to the official reports from the Government Analyst’s Department.

But for at least one of them, truth came too late.

He went home—technically a free man—only to be swallowed by the weight of shame and trauma. He took his own life shortly after his release. His name, withheld here out of respect for the family, became an unintentional martyr to the failures of a system meant to protect, not destroy.

His attorney, Geethma Fernando, stood in Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court and publicly accused the police of planting the drugs on her client. There was no rebuttal. No denial. Just silence.

Nine months. That’s how long some of these falsely accused men and women sat in remand custody—stripped of their livelihoods, dignity, and in some cases, families. Nine months waiting for scientific proof of what they already knew: they were innocent.

The police had claimed that the young man was in possession of 3.2 grams of heroin. He was denied bail until he reached High Court—a financial nightmare for his already-strained family. And in the end, the only thing heavier than the cost of freedom was the truth: there were no drugs.

In a heart-wrenching moment, the victim’s sister collapsed in court upon hearing her brother’s name cleared. A death certificate in one hand, truth in the other. But no justice.

What happens now?

The Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court has freed these individuals—but the ghosts of injustice linger. There has been no comment from the police, no investigation into the possibility of planted evidence, no redress for lost time or reputation.

How many more sit behind bars, held hostage by a lie?

How many families must suffer, even as their loved ones are legally exonerated?

And when the truth arrives, as it did this time, will it come in time to matter?