The assault of a 14 year old autistic boy from Aluthgama on 25 May has caused outrage and calls for justice on social media.
CCTV footage on the incident shared on Twitter, shows the boy being dragged across the road, assaulted by policemen and some bystanders, close to a Police checkpoint.
Police had reportedly assaulted the boy for traveling in a bicycle during curfew and later refused to accept the complaint over assault.
Following the revelation of the incident, a number of Sri Lankans have called out for justice for the affected teenager.
This is totally unacceptable from #lka @SriLankaPolice2. This happens just after President @GotabayaR announced a task force for secure country, law abiding society. Hope this will be investigated & justice served. Also @SriLankaPolice2 will take measures to avoid such in future. https://t.co/LgBugHI9bN
— Harsha Purasinghe (@harshap) June 4, 2020
Idk why but, while the situation in USA remains a major concern in #SriLanka, our very own reality #JusticeForThariq is very less spoken for.
Those involved should be acted on strictly and we should all work together to make sure that doesn't ever happen again on our soil, ever.
— Ranul Perera 🇱🇰 (@diyasen_aba) June 4, 2020
Absolutely disgusting behaviour! You never assault a child! You never do that! And definitely not one who is autistic! Children are off limits! This is what Sri Lanka is now is it? Grown men picking on little children. #JusticeForThariq https://t.co/7L0kdQHKhW
— Nilukshi (@Nilukshi16) June 4, 2020