An elderly man with physical disabilities was seen harassed by a police officer during a protest by a group of people against their exclusion as beneficiaries of ‘Aswesuma’ welfare scheme.
Demonstrators blocked Mannar-Vavuniya main road at Ganeshapuram on June 28 and demanded that they be included in the welfare scheme.
As police intervened to clear the road, the OIC of Parainalakulam grabbed the disabled man’s chair and threw it away, according to video footage of the incident.
The man said that the police should have sat him by the roadside instead of harassing him in that manner.
However, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told Parliament recently that if mistakes and shortcomings have occurred in the selection of Aswesuma recipients, it will be rectified and no disabled persons will be left behind.
