The Father Who Won’t Let “Harak Kata” Be Forgotten

Behind the infamous underworld alias “Harak Kata” is Nadun Chinthaka Wickramaratne. Behind him stands a father who refuses to give up. Nelson Mervin Wickramaratne has now taken his struggle beyond Sri Lanka, filing a complaint with the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances in Geneva. His claim is that his son’s prolonged detention is not about justice, but about silencing him.

Nadun has spent more than thirty months in custody under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), detained through successive extensions. Despite the long period, no major charges of drugs, weapons, or organized crime have been brought against him. The only notable allegation is that he once attempted to escape from remand prison.

The father’s letter highlights claims that while in custody, Nadun was pressured to remain silent about alleged corruption at the highest levels. He has accused senior police officers and politicians of demanding bribes, including a former minister, Tiran Alles, and a former Inspector General of Police who has since been removed. Nadun claims he was asked for a payment of thirty million rupees. After refusing, his privileges were cut back, including the reduction of daily yard time from six hours to three.

Conditions inside detention, according to his family, have been deliberately harsh. He has been kept isolated from others, given poor quality food, and denied medical care despite contracting chikungunya. The family further says he has been denied access to his wife and child, a form of punishment designed to break him.

The father insists this is less about criminal allegations and more about silencing a man with damaging information. He calls the detention arbitrary, politically motivated, and in violation of basic human rights.

For now, the only official case is the escape attempt, but the father’s campaign has turned the spotlight toward what is happening behind prison walls. The Sri Lankan government has yet to issue any public response to the complaint or to the wider allegations.