A team from the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of Police headquarters was dispatched to the Seeduwa Police station yesterday on the orders of the IGP to investigate an alleged assault of a 12-year-old boy on New Year’s Day at Seeduwa. It was alleged a group of drunken policemen stripped the child naked and assaulted him.

It was also alleged that when the boy’s mother arrived at the scene on hearing about the assault on her son, the drunken cops had threatened to rape her. Two other friends of the victim who had gone to the victim’s rescue, too, had been assaulted by the group of policemen, eye witnesses said.

Various versions transpired when The Island inquired into the incident. First Police headquarters denied that any such incident had taken place and said no complaints had been lodged with the Seeduwa Police.

However, Seeduwa Police refused to comment on the incident but later some officers attached the Station said that when a police party went to settle a dispute between two factions, it was pelted with stones and a policeman sustained injuries.

Police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekera told The Island yesterday that investigations conducted so far had not revealed that the policemen were under the influence of liquor.

Meanwhile, eye witnesses who are residents of Seeduwa, requested the special investigation team to find out as to why the police team was pelted with stones if in fact they had gone to inquire into a dispute between two factions.