Relatives of a 29-year-old man who died while in the custody of the Homagama Police Headquarters have accused police officers of assaulting him.The deceased has been identified as Francis Durage Ishara Harsha Kumara, a father of one who resided in Munamale Watta, Kiriwaththuduwa.The Homagama Police said the man had been arrested after being found in possession of 490 milligrams of the drug known as ‘ice’.

According to his relatives, the man was arrested by police in the early hours of today (25) and died while being held in a police cell.Relatives who visited the Homagama Police Headquarters this morning to check on his condition said they saw him being carried out of the Criminal Investigation Division by four police officers.They alleged that the young man had been assaulted.The police subsequently arranged to admit him to the Homagama Base Hospital after he was found lying in the police cell, following a request by his relatives.However, the relatives claimed that he had already died by the time he was taken to hospital.

Tensions flared at the Homagama Base Hospital after family members, demanding justice over his death, became agitated within the hospital premises.Meanwhile, police told the media that an investigation had been launched under the supervision of an Assistant Superintendent of Police to establish the circumstances surrounding the man’s death.