In a significant verdict issued today, the Gampaha High Court Trial-At-Bar acquitted four Sri Lanka Army personnel implicated in the Rathupaswala shooting incident, which resulted in the deaths of three individuals during a protest in 2013. The acquitted individuals include an Army officer and three soldiers.
The Trial-at-Bar, comprising High Court Judges Nimal Ranaweera, Nishantha Hapuarachchi, and Sahan Mapa, delivered the ruling more than 11 years after the tragic event. The incident, which occurred on August 1, 2013, in the Weliweriya area of Rathupaswala, Gampaha, saw three people, including two schoolchildren, killed and 45 others injured.
The violence erupted when villagers, protesting against a factory accused of contaminating their drinking water, clashed with Army personnel who opened fire on the demonstrators. The acquittal has brought renewed attention to the long-standing issue of environmental and social justice in the region.