Uncle remanded for allegedly molesting niece given into his care by a court order

Ampara Additional Magistrate Mrs. Pushparaja Ananda Vadani has ordered the cancellation of bail for a person accused of severely sexually abusing his brother's daughter, who was in his custody under a court order, and remanded him for 14 days. Police investigations have revealed that the suspect, a resident of Weranketagoda area, which belongs to the Ampara Uhana Police Division, has also served as the headmaster of a Dhamma school in a temple in the area.

According to a court order issued several years ago, the custody of the girl was taken over by this suspect uncle. It is stated that the suspect continuously sexually abused the girl, who lived in that house, when no one else was present in the house. Unable to bear this harassment, the girl told her school friends about it, and then, on their advice, informed her brother about the incident. Later, the villagers also became aware of this and, following a notification to the National Child Protection Authority, the Uhana Police arrested the suspect.

Initially, the Ampara Magistrate's Court granted bail to the suspect because the Women's Bureau of the Uhana Police Station submitted a 'B' report to the court without properly recognizing the seriousness of the offense. However, the girl's father filed a complaint with Senior Superintendent of Police Priyantha Bandara Kasthuriarachchi, who is in charge of the Ampara District, stating that the investigation conducted by the Uhana Police was not carried out properly. Accordingly, the Senior Superintendent of Police has instructed Chief Police Inspector Dayani Gamage, the OIC of the Ampara Divisional Children and Women's Bureau, to conduct a re-investigation into this incident.

During the re-initiated extensive investigation, the girl was referred to the Judicial Medical Officer at Ampara General Hospital, where medical reports confirmed that she had been severely sexually abused. Based on these facts, after the suspect was re-produced before the Ampara Additional Magistrate, the court ordered the cancellation of his previously granted bail and remanded him until the 16th.

In addition, a special investigation has been launched into the officers of the Uhana Women's Bureau who initially handled the incident, and steps have been taken to transfer its OIC to another police station. These further investigations are being carried out under the direction of the Senior Superintendent of Police in charge of the Ampara Division, under the orders of Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (Attorney-at-Law) Varuna Jayasundara, who is in charge of the Eastern Province, and under the supervision of Ampara Deputy Inspector General of Police Sujith Wedamulla. The officers involved in the investigation include the OIC of the Ampara Divisional Children and Women's Bureau, Police Inspector Tharanga, Police Sergeant (37387) Weerasinghe, and Women Police Constables (10237) Ushani and (10686) Sachini.