A retired army officer who was a resident in Kiridiwela, Papiliwala has died in police custody our correspondent reports. This person died after he was taken to police custody last Saturday.

The police stated that he was under the influence of liquor at the time of arrest and he jumped out of the jeep when he was taken to Police Station. However Judicial Medical Officer who carried out post-mortem decided the cause of death due to a severe concussion due to a blow to the back side of his head.

The deceased was a retired Army officer who lived at No 47, Kirindiwela, Siyambalawatta.

A relation of the deceased speking to `Lankatruth` said, `This arrest took place 500m away from our home. There are eye witnesses as well. He was assaulted following arrest. However Police claimed that they arrested the person near the post office. The police produced evidence froma few pavement hawkers to justify their claim. However, the evidence they produced is contradictory. The evidence is not compatible with the post mortem report. So it is obvious that the death occurred due to police assault`