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Ninety-one suspects have died in police custody during the tenure of the Minister of Defence of the present government, Parliament was told yesterday.
Chief Government Whip Urban Development and Sacred area Development Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, answering a question raised by JVP MP Lakshman Nipunarachchi, said that the suspects reportedly died during the period November 2005 and August 16, this year.
Two suspects died in 2005, 11 suspects in 2006, 20 in 2007, 26 in 2008 and 32 suspects this year.
Asked to inform the House the manner in which these suspects died, Minister Gunawardena said that most died owing to natural causes, suicide, addiction to drugs and when police acted in self defence.
JVP MP Vijitha Herath raising a supplementary question said that all other causes of death were acceptable accept for the reason cited by the minister as drug overdose. "Does it mean the suspects have access to illicit drugs when they are behind bars?" he queried.
Minister Gunawardena said that there was no secret of the fact that the inmates could obtain illicit drugs in remand custody. "They could obtain drugs even when they are remanded. There had been occasions when some suspects died by consuming excess drugs while they were in police custody, he said.
