Sathsara Nimesh is not the first person to die under unclear circumstances while in the custody of Sri Lankan police, but his death seems to have inflamed the long-running debate on police violence in the South Asian country.

The 25-year-old from the Badulla district in eastern Sri Lanka was attending a training course for caregivers in Colombo, the island's largest city. Police detained him on April 1 for allegedly breaking into someone's home. Nimesh was then taken to the Welikada police station in the suburbs of Colombo and then to a mental health facility, where he died the following morning.

The police told his mother, Samanthi, that her son had tried to kill himself, claiming he struggled with mental issues. But Samanthi believes her son was only sent to the mental health facility to cover up the beating he took at the police station.

"I really think the police are lying," she told DW. She pointed out that her son had "a lot of wounds, scratches, and bruises everywhere on his body," adding that Nimesh may have been injured by both the police........

© Deutsche Welle