• Four women including the mother and grandmother arrested

By Ajith Siriwardana  

Four women including the mother were arrested yesterday in Aranayake following a video circulated on social media, which showed a six year-old child being beaten by some women. 

Police Spokesman DIG Nihal Thalduwa said the four women were arrested at Ehelagasthenna in Aranayake. He said the incident had occurred on July 12 noon and the video had been released on social media yesterday. The DIG said Aranayake police acted swiftly on the video and arrested four women. The arrested are the mother, two sisters of the child’s grandmother and another woman.   

He said the two sisters of the child’s grandmother aged 78 and 61 had beaten the child while his mother (41) had aided and abetted the assault as seen in the video.   

The Spokesman said the boy is under police protection and he is to be produced before a medical officer.  

As said by the child’s father in the video, the child has been beaten for visiting a nearby house without permission.  

DIG Thalduwa requested people to report any such incidents of cruelty to children and assured that police will act swiftly on such complaints.