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| Sunday, 11 January 2004 |
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Dhammika Amarasinghe killing: Was it on contract? Crime Sunday by Jayampathy Jayasinghe The Colombo Crime Division (CCD) which took over the murder investigation of Dhammika Amarasinghe, the notorious underworld leader who was gunned down last Friday at the Colombo Magistrate Court No 6 said that they are investigating whether the alleged killer Chaminda Udayakumara had acted on his own or whether he was involved in a contract killing on someone else's behalf. However Police sources say the suspect Chaminda Udyakumara had been awarded a contract by a notorious drug dealer in Colombo to liquidate Dhamiikka Amarasinghe and was paid a sum of Rs 70,000 for the job. Udayakumara was instructed by the drug dealer to open fire on Dhamiika Amarasinghe as soon as he was brought to the witness stand. But somehow he had waited until Dhammika Amarasinghe was escorted from the witness stand to open fire. According to police the suspect had fired seven shots in side the Magistrate Courts while the Magistrate was on the bench. Meanwhile sources said that Udyakumara had decided to shoot Dhammika Amarasinghe after accepting money from the drug dealer and fearing his own life if he failed to carry out the job. According to Police Chaminda Udyakumara was an army deserter from Kotahena who was arrested for possessing six live ammunitions on an earlier occasion. After being in remand for some time he was released but had not reported to the army's Gemunu Watch where he was employed. The suspect was married and was living in Kotahena area with his two children. He was doing odd jobs to eke out a living. In fact he was able to admit a child of his to a school last week, with the money he received for the contract killing sources said. However sources say that Chaminda Udayakumara was not an underworld figure as mentioned in most news reports. "No underworld figure would have ever dared to get close to Dhammika Amarasinghe and to shoot him knowing the repercussions if he were to miss him . Therefore they chose a novice for the job". According to Police the suspect Udaya Kumara had disguised himself as a law student and had walked into the Magistrate Courts last Friday with the Chinese pistol concealed in an ankle boot that he wore that day. Although the Police had body searched every one who entered the courts premises that day they had failed to check the shoes. Meanwhile the deceased Dhammika Amarasinghe a notorious underworld figure was allegedly linked to about 50 underworld killings during past several years. Some of the sensational murders that he was alleged to have committed are Baddegana Sanjeewa, Satana Editor, Rohana Kumara, Niranjan Sellasamy etc. Meanwhile the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) investigating Fridays shooting is already probing as to how Udyaya Kumara came to possess the Chinese pistol used in the killing. It was reported that two civilians were also injured in the attack while the policemen and the Prison guards escorting Dhamikka Amarasinghe escaped unhurt. The injured were rushed to the National Hospital Colombo. Household burglaries on the rise: How it could be prevented One of the nightmares that working couples face today is burglary of their homes when they are away at work or perhaps when a lone spouse is at home tending to household chores. How could persons prevent their houses being burgled and what safeguards should be adopted. ASP, Premalal Ranagala of the Colombo Central Division who followed a course in crime prevention in Kobe Japan has advice for housewives. Having worked with the Japanese police in Kobe, Ranagala found that house burglaries in Japan are virtually at rock bottom due to the presence of vigilance committees in residential areas. He said Policemen in Kobe have been allocated areas and are held responsible for crimes in their areas. Unlike Sri Lankan homes, the Japanese do not store gold jewellery in their homes. They usually keep such valuables in bank vaults reducing the number of house burglaries. Burglaries can be prevented if housewives are more cautious about security in their homes. Ninety percent of housebreaking and thefts could be minimised by installing iron grills on the front and the rear doors to prevent unauthorised entry by thieves, he said. According to Police house breaking is due to ignorance. As working couples lead busy lifestyles they do not have sufficient time to even think to safeguard their homes. On the other hand burglars carefully study the habits and weaknesses of people before burgling a house. Burglars use different methods to gain entry to a home by cutting padlocks and grills. Gaining entry through the refuse chute or through false ceilings or through ventilation openings. They also gain entry through unoccupied neighbouring houses or a shop or make use of household tools left outside to break into homes. The following measures have been suggested to thwart housebreaking and thefts. (1) By installing a door viewer and a chain to prevent easy entry into a home (2) the main doors to be of solid construction and fitted with a good quality lock (3) Install iron grills with good quality key -operated locks for windows (4) Lock up any ladders, tools and equipment to prevent intruders from using them to access the house (5) Trim overgrown tree branches, bushes, and shrubs along the perimeter fencing regularly, to prevent intruders from using them to enter or hide in your own compound (6) Install lamps or sensor lamps to illuminate your compound to detect intruders. ASP Ranagala's advice for working couples is to (1) lock all doors and windows when leaving home even for a short time and not to hide keys under the doormat or in a flower pot, or on top of the electricity meter box outside the home. (2) To change all locks when the house keys are lost or stolen. He says it is wise if arrangements are made before hand to keep the postman and the news paper delivery man informed to stop deliveries before inmates go on vacation. It is wise to inform the police station of your area and your neighbours before going on a vacation, he said. Last year the Nugegoda police arrested a person who burgled several houses in Maharagama , Homagama, Athurugiriya, Nugegoda and Ratmalana areas along with stolen property worth Rs. 3 million. Statistics show there were 6809 cases of burglary and theft during first six months of 2001 compared to 6875 cases during the first six months of 2002. |
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