Former MP Ali Zahir Moulana highlights plight of Eravur residents

Sri Lanka’s military launched an investigation after social media posts showed soldiers forcing people to kneel on the streets as a punishment for flouting lockdown rules, AFP reported.

Armed troops ordered civilians to raise their hands in the air while kneeling on a road in the town of Eravur, about 300km east of Colombo.

Local residents said they considered the order to be degrading and humiliating, while officials acknowledged that troops had no power to mete out such punishments.

The victims were on their way to two restaurants to buy food.

“An initial Military Police investigation has already commenced after certain photos went viral depicting an alleged harassment in the Eravur area,” the army said in a statement, cited by AFP.

It said the officer in charge had been removed and the soldiers involved ordered to leave the town.

“The army will adopt the strictest disciplinary action against all errant army personnel,” the military added in the AFP reported.

Sri Lanka is under a month-long lockdown to contain a third wave of coronavirus infections.

The number of deaths from the virus has increased more than fourfold to 2,531 since the start of the wave in mid-April.

The military has been deployed to help police and health authorities enforce virus restrictions.

Former MP Ali Zahir Moulana commented on Twitter: “The population demographic of Eravur is made up mostly of daily wage earners comprising of fishermen, farmers and small business owners, whose livelihoods have all been stripped completely due to the pandemic.”