The JVP youth wing, Socialist Youth Union (SYU) yesterday said action should be taken against the officers of the Borella police who did nothing for 12 days after being informed of the alleged self-immolation of the 16-year-old girl who succumbed to her burn injuries while working as a servant at the residence of MP Rishad Bathiudeen.
Addressing the media at the party headquarters in Pelawatte, SYU national organiser Eranga Gunasekera said J. Ishalini, a 16-year-old girl, was hospitalised with burn injuries on July 3 while working as a housemaid at the former minister Bathiudeen’s residence in Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 07. “It is said that she set herself on fire around 6 am on July 3. She died on July 15 while receiving treatment at the Intensive care unit of the Colombo National Hospital. We want to know what the Borella Police had been doing for 12 days since July 3 without investigating this. It is obvious that the police were protecting Bathiudeens,” Gunasekera said.
He said that the victim was a resident of Diyagama West in Agarapathana and had been brought by a broker to Bathiudeen’s residence in October 2020, when she was 15 years old. “We demand justice for the victim and a separate investigation into the conduct of the Borella Police. The media reports on Illashini’s death show only one facet of a national crisis. How many underage children are serving in the houses of the rich in Colombo? It does not matter whether the house belonged to a Sinhala, Muslim or Tamil. The rich of all races have committed the same crime. Nobody talks about the crime of enslaving children to prevent similar unfortunate incidents,” Gunasekera said.
National Committee members of the SYU Satheesh Selvaraj and Shanie Ratnayake also addressed the press. (SI)