Sri Lanka, July 8 -- The Supreme Court has ruled that police had violated the fundamental human rights of two farmers after the duo was arrested and subsequently remanded over a protest staged in 2018 along the Polonnaruwa-Mahiyanganaya road.

The protest was organized in opposition to the authorities' inaction in preventing wild elephants from invading villages.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court ordered that S. M. L. R. Bandara, who was the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Aralaganwila Police at the time, must pay compensation of Rs. 30,000 each to the petitioners from his private funds.

This verdict was delivered by Supreme Court Judge Yasantha Kodagoda, with the concurrence of Chief Justice Murdhu Fernando and Justice S. Thurairaja, after...