The special Police operation launched yesterday to trace children under the age of 16 employed as domestic workers in the Western Province, especially Colombo, will continue today as well.
The Police said the operation had been launched after information had been received that several underage children from the hill country were being brought for employment to Colombo and suburbs.
Two Police teams had inspected 30 houses, including apartments in the Modara and Colpetty areas during the special operation carried out yesterday.
The Police urged the public to contact 01112433333 if they have information of people who have employed children below the age of 16 as domestic workers in Colombo and surrounding areas.
The special operation was conducted after a 16-year-old female domestic worker died while being employed at former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen’s Colombo residence.
The child had died after being admitted to the Colombo National Hospital with severe burn injuries. However, the post-mortem report had revealed that the girl from Diyagama had been sexually abused over a long period of time.
Investigations conducted by the Police in this regard found that another girl who had also been employed at the same residence prior to the victim, had also been sexually abused by the brother-in-law of MP Bathiudeen.
The wife of MP Bathiudeen, his father-in-law, brother-in-law, and the broker who had brought the 16-year-old girl for employment have been remanded after being produced before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court yesterday. (NewsWire)