File photograph: Chandran Vithusan
A second autopsy on a Tamil youth from Batticaloa who was "beaten to death" by Sri Lankan police, has reportedly revealed signs of torture according to lawyers for the murdered man’s family.
22-year old Chandran Vithusan was tied to a tree and assaulted in front of his family members by Sri Lankan police officers, before being taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on June 3rd. He was pronounced dead the following morning.
Tamil lawyer Sugas Kanagaratnam and Vithusan’s family had demanded a second autopsy, after an initial autopsy led by the Special Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) cited a drug overdose as the cause of death. Vithusan’s family repeatedly raised suspicions, insisting his death was a result of police brutality.
“These people are lying. Justice should be rendered to my elder brother. I will not stop until then. I saw my brother being beaten to death,” said the younger sister of the victim, Caroline Chandran. “He was lifted and smashed on the floor and on the wall. Even the wall has cracked. Do they have that much power?”
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