Sri Lankan prison minister resigns after threatening to kill Tamil prisoners
Colombo, (PTI): Sri Lanka's Minister of State for Prisons Management Lohan Ratwatte tendered his resignation on Wednesday, days after he allegedly threatened to kill Tamil prisoners during his visit to the Anuradhapura prison in the country's northern central region, a senior official said.
Ratwatte's resignation came as pressure mounted on him after the Tamil political parties sought his resignation and arrest over the incident.
The resignation was accepted by the Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Kingsley Ratnayake, the presidential spokesman, said.
Ratwatte allegedly went to the Anuradhapura prison on September 12 and forced two prisoners to kneel and threatened to kill them.
His act prompted the Tamil parties to condemn his behaviour and call for his resignation.
We call on the government to immediately remove the state minister for prison management and have him arrested and charged after an immediate inquiry for allegedly threatening to kill prisoners in Anuradhapura on Sunday, September 12, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said in a tweet.
Galen Ponnambalam, the leader of the Tamil National People's Front tweeted also confirmed the incident.
The TNPF can confirm that on the evening of September, 12 the state minister for Prisons had gone to the Anuradhapura prisons, summoned the Tamil political prisoners and had got two of them to kneel in front of him, he said in a tweet.
Ponnambalam said the minister had threatened to kill Tamil prisoners.
The local media reports alleged that the minister had visited the main prison in Colombo to show the gallows to a group of his friends late at night before heading to the north central town of Anuradhapura.
He was allegedly carrying his personal weapon into the prison which the prison officials said was an illegal act.
The relevant minister's office has denied any such incident involving the minister, the local media reports said.
The incident and act of the minister has also been condemned by the United Nations.
The UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy said that it is the duty of the State to protect the rights of prisoners, the Colombo Gazette reported.
In our work on prison reform and drug rehabilitation, UN Sri Lanka works to strengthen capacities to uphold the rights of all those in custody and condemns any ill treatment of prisoners, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy tweeted on Wednesday.
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Annpurna Devi expresses anguish over girl's rape in TN, urges NCW to act
New Delhi (PTI): Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annpurna Devi on Tuesday expressed her anguish over the alleged gang rape of a girl in Tamil Nadu and urged the National Commission for Women to take immediate cognisance of the matter.
In a post on X, Devi said, "Deeply anguished by this horrific incident. I urge the NCW to take immediate cognisance and act swiftly in coordination with the concerned authorities to ensure the strictest action against all culprits."
Devi said, "Justice must be swift and unsparing — the accused must be brought to book without delay," adding, "the safety, dignity, and justice of every daughter of India remain our highest priority."
"We stand firmly with the survivor and her family in this difficult hour," she said.
Reacting to a post by former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai, who flagged concerns over the law and order situation in the state, Devi said such incidents "expose grave concerns" under the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government.
Annamalai, in his post, alleged that a 15-year-old girl from Kanchipuram, who had come to participate in a temple festival near Seyyaru in Tiruvannamalai district, was gangraped.
He said the incident was "deeply shocking and enraging" to him and alleged that such crimes point to a "complete failure" of law and order in Tamil Nadu.
Annamalai demanded immediate arrest of all those involved and the "harshest punishments" for the accused.
He also called for full protection and mental health counselling for the survivor and her family.
