Former State Minister Ali Zahir Mowlana said a 14-year-old autistic boy in Darga Town, Aluthgama has been brutally assaulted by the Police.

The politician said the incident was shocking and the prejudice that ensued after by the Police and the JMO should be exposed.

The incident, explained by Moulana on Twitter, is as follows, "Today, he has the capacities of a 6-year-old child. On the 25th of May, while curfew was imposed, Thariq had wandered out of his house on his bicycle and had ventured by the Ambagaha Junction in Dharga Town

"There was a police checkpoint manned by six-seven policemen. He was first stopped and accosted by a policeman in civvies, and pushed violently off his bicycle. Thariq, being autistic, naturally was not able to effectively communicate who he was and what he was doing there. The child was visibly terrified and disoriented. As he was pulled to his feet, another five policemen walked up and started brutally assaulting him, including slapping him across the face and blows to his head and torso. He was then dragged across the road towards the checkpoint and a nearby petrol station where another two civilians who stopped in a three-wheeler also joined the police in assaulting him. All the while he was sobbing unintelligibly, given his circumstances which further infuriated the police. His hands were then tied behind his back as he was trying to struggle free, and then tied against a post under a tree, by the checkpoint," he said.

Then his father rushed to the checkpoint and managed to bring the injured child home after explaining his condition to the police officers.

"Thariq, his father and another policeman then went to meet the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) at the Nagoda Hospital in Kalutara. Upon examining the boy, the JMO then passed on vile comments to the policeman asking him, ”why did you bring him here? He should be sent to Angoda. His kind (Muslims) are the reason why we are all wearing masks today. He deserved this and they should all be punished. I will show them.” the MP said, adding that the JMO ha proceeded to refer the child to the psychiatrist at the hospital.