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| Sunday, 23 November 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Bone-chilling murders The killing spree which is going on unabated and attempts by the police to curb it has been unsuccessful as far as the public is concerned. The country has witnessed several gruesome killings and hijacking of luxury motor vehicles during the past few months. The police department has to share the blame to some extent as they have been groping in the dark during the past two months without a permanent head who could the map out an effective strategy to curb the killings. It was only two weeks ago the country witnessed the gruesome killing of two young men at Nawala, Nugegoda and at Katubedde, Moratuwa. The former was a young tea-taster, Shyam Rajiv Bodidasa (35) who was gunned down near a bicycle shop at Nawala, while on his way home from office. Bodidasa had visited the shop at Nawala, Nugegoda on that fateful day. Police said the assassins had followed him and shot him just outside the shop. Rajiv Bodidasa had joined a tea company in Colombo as a young tea taster and had risen to the position of Manager Tea Department of that company in a short time through dint of hard work. His father, Tudor Bodidasa, the former Secretary to the Ministry of Plantation Industry and former chairman of the Tea Board said that Shyam Rajiv was his youngest son. He was a conscientious worker who started tea brokering business for his company which was successful. Rajiv married three years ago and was the father of daughter, one year and three months old. He was devoted to his family and never drank smoked or gambled. He was not indebted to anyone and had no known enemies." he said. Mr. Bodidasa feels that his son was killed by hired assassins due rivalry in tea trade business. "Others in the trade would have been jealous of him because he did extremely well for the company. I cannot think of any other reason why he was killed." he said sobbing incessantly. OIC Crimes Mirihana Police, Inspector Ajit Gunewardena said Rajiv Bodidasa was shot several times on his head by un unidentified person when he emerged from the bicycle shop to reverse his car near the shop. "In fact he told the salesman at the shop to assemble the bicycle while he stepped outside to bring his car when someone shot him repeatedly with a 9mm automatic pistol." "We found three 9 mm bullet casings at the scene of the crime. We are looking at the possibility whether the assassination was carried out by an underworld gang on behalf of any interested party." Inspector Gunewardena said Police said that several 9mm pellets embedded in his head were found at the post mortem examination. The HQI of Mirihana Police, Chief Inspector, Quintus Raymond said that they have not traced the killers and the motive for the killing has still not yet being established. "We are investigating whether Rajiv Bodidasa was killed by his competitors in the tea trade." The other bone chilling killing was reported from Koralawella, Moratuwa where a young person named Anjula Dias Karunaratne (22) was shot dead at his home at Jayanthi Mawatha when he went to answer the door bell. The assassin had then fired several shots to his head and escaped on a trailer motor cycle with an accomplice. On hearing a sound like crackers being lit near the door step, his family members rushed there and found him lying on a pool of blood. He was rushed to the Panadura hospital with the help of neighbours but was found dead on admission. According to police Anjula Karunaratna was an unemployed son of a wealthy businessman from Moratuwa. "His parents were very lavish with him and we are trying to find out whether he had any links with the underworld," a police officer said. OIC Crimes Moratuwa Police, Inspector Kamal Amarasinghe said the trailer motor cycle used by the killers was later found abandoned in Katubedde area. "We found the motor cycle owner to be a person from the south. We hope to get at him soon," he said. The Headquarters Inspector of Moratuwa Police, Chief Inspector Senarath de Silva said the victims had been shot with a 9mm pistol and the motive is not known yet. "Although he came from a wealthy family we are investigating whether he associated any bad characters." About three weeks ago in a similar incident two young persons Niluka Suranga Weerasinghe (19) and Gihan Prasad Gamage (20) were shot to death by an unknown gunman while travelling in a luxury bus at Koralawella. Police are yet to arrest the culprits of that murder. Colombo Crime Divisions Director, Senior Supdt. of Police Sarath Lugoda said the police have identified nine underworld gangs responsible for contract killings in the western province. "They are very well organised and the police find it difficult to catch them as they live outside Colombo. The public too is scared to tip off the police due to reprisals by the gangs," he said. |
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