Police begins investigations on human bones found in Vilimal

The Maldives Police Services has today claimed that they have begun investigations on the matter of newly found human bones at a site in Vilimalé which was the location of a jail during the presidency of Ibrahim Nasir.

The investigations have begun at a time when criticism from various quarters has been directed at the police saying that the police would ignore the issue. Criticism of the police started after they gave permission for the bones to be reburied at Malé New Cemetery without any actions when they were found.

The pieces of human bone were found a few days ago, and on that very day the police had said that they had instructed Amin Construction, the company which is doing the work of building a pre-school in the site and who thus found the bones during digging work, to work with Malé City Council to rebury the bones at Malé New Cemetery. Following the announcement, many, including main opposition parties, criticized the police of not taking their responsibility to look into the matter.

Ahmed Shiyam, Police Media Official, said today that the police had already gone to the site in which the bones were found to take sample, and that the investigations were already under way.

“We gave permission for the bones to be reburied only after taking samples. We know where they are reburied, and if there arises a need for additional samples, we can and we will do that too”, said Shiyam.

Shiyam assured that “the police would not ignore such a case without investigations”.

A worker from Amin Construction, stationed at the construction site, said that the bones were found in two different spots after they dug in four areas in the site.

Renowned historian, Muhammad Naseem Sikka, who was at one time locked up for 11 months in the prison that used to be at the site said today that during the year 1967, there were cases of torture and death of a number of inmates at the facility. At that time, Ibrahim Nasir headed the State, and it was he who built the prison as well. Ibrahim Nasir is the hero of Maldivian independence, as he snatched political freedom for the country from the British who were protectorates over the country at one time.