Survivor Speaks: Inside Batalanda's Brutal Torture Chamber!

"Two men with pistols shot my husband at the Kalagedihena junction, dragged him by the neck, and put him into a white Hi-Ace van without license plates. Witnesses at the junction saw this."

This is the sorrow of a wife whose husband, a former government employee who lived his life singing viridu, disappeared.

This state employee, a father of three, is none other than Ananda Jayakody, a lawyer who survived brutal torture at the Batalanda torture chamber but is still alive, possibly due to his past merits.

What happened to Ananda Jayakody?

According to his wife, M. Premawathi, as stated in newspapers at the time, Ananda Jayakody left his house on September 6, 1988, to meet then-MP S.D. Bandaranaike.

However, Ananda Jayakody was abducted at the Kalagedihena junction after leaving his house.

"They put me in a van after shooting me. They shot me in both legs. They put me in a van and blindfolded me. While in the van, I was tied up, and my face held to the floor of the van. From one corner of the van, I could barely see through my blindfold that it was a residential complex. Then I realized this was Batalanda. They dragged me out and took me away. Although three or four people came from behind, two held my arms from both sides. As we walked, I heard the sound of people being tortured in the rooms of that residential complex," recalled Ananda Jayakody.

In the 1980s, Ananda Jayakody was involved with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) as an activist and became famous as a viridu singer.

He gained significant fame for his contribution as a viridu singer during a strike in 1986.

In 1988, amidst the backdrop of JVP being banned as an organization, Ananda Jayakody participated in discussions to present a common candidate for the presidential election representing JVP.

"The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna led by Dinesh Gunawardena and several parties including Rukman Senanayake of the United Lanka People's Party and Dr. Gamini Wijesekera participated in this discussion. I went with a letter signed by Rohana Wijeweera and Gamini Gunasekara representing JVP. That’s when it was revealed that I was Ananda Jayakody. Therefore, they abducted me to kill me," he said.

Ananda Jayakody's disappearance drew significant attention due to another victim of Batalanda torture chamber, Attorney-at-Law Wijayadasa Liyanarachchi's burial incident on that day.

Ananda Jayakody is still alive today because his abduction was revealed in Parliament at that time.

Then-MP S.D. Bandaranaike raised Ananda Jayakody's disappearance in Parliament, which is recorded in Hansard to this day.

Excerpt from Hansard"

"Ananda Jayakody was taken into custody at Kalagedihena junction at 7:30 this morning. He helped me draft peace proposals. Honorable Minister, if you can look into why he was taken into custody, it would be significant. What he did was sing viridu on buses. He was taken from Kalagedihena junction."

End of Hansard excerpt.

"On the day I was abducted, S.D. Bandaranaike was in Parliament. After being shot and abducted, Bandaranaike revealed this in Parliament which prevented them from killing me," disclosed Ananda.

Even today, despite his reluctance, Ananda Jayakody reveals these dark memories emphasizing that recommendations from the Batalanda Commission report must be implemented.

"Someone asked who I was and they then said I am Ananda Jayakody. That individual said that I was a wanted person and and they took me inside to a room where they first applied Dharma Chakra torture method. In this method, my limbs are boubd. They make me bleed from one leg, and place a iron rod. Then they tied me to either side, and started spinning the wheel. When the first round was done, someone said that something had gone wrong, and demanded that I be brought down. Afterward, I was put inside a van. After traveling a distance, I was taken to a room and then my blindfold was opened. It was then that I realised that I was in a torture chamber, at a house belonging to the Gampaha Police. They tortured in many ways," he recalled. 

Many such murders buried under sands of time are included in Batalanda Commission report.

Living witnesses who suffered brutal torture at Batalanda still raise their voices demanding justice according to Commission's recommendations.

"If not for Parliament revealing my abduction I wouldn't be alive today. Murders did take place. That brutal regime killed thousands of people. Ranil Wickremesinghe was the torturer of Batalanda, " shared Ananda.

Truth can never be suppressed.