Investigations to probe police inaction over harassment complaint by Muslim woman
July 3, 2019 04:24 pm
The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) has launched an investigation into the allegations of inaction by the Bandaragama Police over complaints lodged by a Muslim female on harassment against her, stated the Police Media Spokesperson.
A Muslim woman named Abdul Hassan Fathima, speaking at a press conference held with the General Secretary of Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) organization, yesterday (02), stated that the Bandaragama Police did not take necessary legal action on a complaint she filed.
At the press conference, Fathima revealed that she got married to a Sinhala man in 2008 and that he was threatened and harassed by the mosque over the marriage. They had then lodged a complaint at the police and left the area to live in Malabe, she said.
Later, the couple had moved back to Atalugama as they had been expecting a baby.
However, the people from the mosques had chased away the husband stating that a Sinhala man cannot be allowed to live there, she said. Fathima had been allowed to remain in the village as she was pregnant, she added. The husband had then left her at her mother’s home and visited her secretly until she delivered, said Fathima.
Fathima further revealed that the people from the mosque had threatened her husband continuously to convert into Islam and attempted to bribe him with offers of houses and vehicles.
The husband had subsequently left the country and the mosque had informed her not to be bothered to look for him, said Fathima.
According to her, the mosques had told her that she could be married off to a Muslim man if she and the baby leaves husband.
On 24th March, a group from the mosque broke into their home and assaulted her and her husband while the police was looking on, stated Fathima. They had also stoned the children when they cried, she added. They were then jailed until the next morning, she further said.
Fathima further claimed that the Bandaragama Police did not take action on the complaints they had lodged with them.
These harassments had come from a mosque called ‘Marawa’, Fathima further claimed.
