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| Sunday, 1 August 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Chief incumbent succumbs to acid burns : Police after fugitive Thera by Jayampathy Jayasinghe The recent slaying of the chief incumbent Thera of Aldeniya Abinawarama temple at Kadawata by a fellow Buddhist priest of the same temple has sent ripples of shock among the Buddhist community. Although we hear of Buddhist priests being killed by robbers these days, it was a shock to many that a chief priest had been killed by another priest of the same temple. The incident happened last Monday around noon. The high priest, Aldeniye Saranajothi (63) was resting on his sofa in the verandah of his temple when the suspect had stealthily crept into the verandah with a jar of acid. He went closer to the chief priest and threw it on his body critically injuring him. After committing the act he ran out of the temple. The chief priest groaning in pain had come out of the building covering his face with both hands due to acid burns. With difficulty he scrambled across the garden to the temple bell and started ringing it incessantly several times to draw the attention of villagers. Several persons who heard the toll of the bell rushed to the temple to find out what it was all about. The priest who was in excruciating pain had pleaded with the crowd for a trishaw taxi to get to the hospital. Shortly after, the high priest was rushed to the hospital. On the way to hospital, the driver stopped his vehicle for a while as he could not endure the strong smell of acid. He saw the priest groaning in pain covering his face with both hands while acid fumes were oozing on his face. However, the priest succumbed to injuries at the Ragama hospital. OIC Kadawata Police, Chief Inspector Nalaka Silva, and party who rushed to the temple found a small sachet near the sofa where the high priest was lying. It contained several credit cards and other paraphernalia the suspect priest had left behind while trying to escape. The suspect had fled the temple soon after the attack. In fact, some villagers had seen the panic stricken priest vanishing out of the temple and boarding a trishaw to proceed to Welipihilawa. The priest after arriving at Welipihilawa had got into another trishaw and proceeded once again to Walpola. At Walpola, he boarded a different trishaw and arrived at Batuwatte railway station before boarding a Colombo-bound train. The suspect had repeatedly changed taxis to avoid being detected. The fugitive monk having arrived in Colombo, journeyed by train to Galle. Later, having arrived at Galle, he got himself admitted to Karapitiya Teaching Hospital. By this time, he had discarded his robe and was sporting a shirt and sarong. In fact, nobody was able to guess that he was a monk. Having spent almost a day at the hospital, he sneaked out and was later found lying at the Galle railway station with a head injury. It was later learnt, the head injury was due to a fall. The people who saw him at the railway station admitted him to the Karapitiya hospital from where he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit. Meanwhile, Kadawata police flashed several messages for the arrest of the fugitive priest. However, hospital employees who felt suspicious of the man at the ICU informed the police. Soon, a police party detailed by OIC Kadawata Police, Chief Inspector Nalaka Silva, proceeded to Karapitiya hospital and arrested the suspect. ASP Peliyagoda, Priyantha Jayakody is presently directing investigations. The suspect priest was a graduate teacher around 38 years old employed at a government school in Kadawata area. The motive for throwing acid on the high priest was due to constant quarrels he has had with him in the past. The suspect priest monk had aspirations to be the incumbent of the Abinawaramaya temple. However the Sangakaraka Sabawa had nominated Aldeniye Saranojothi to succeed him bypassing the suspect priest. |
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