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| Sunday, 19 September 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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The mystery of the brass button
He got up quickly, opened a window in the verandah and then switched on the lights and looked out and observed that the estate labourers had come for their morning roster. Arnolis, then peered into Sumith's bedroom and was surprised to find that the young estate superintendent was not in his bedroom and that the bed looked as if it had not been slept on the night before. Sweetheart Sumith Nagahawatta, the estate Superintendent was in the habit of going to see his sweetheart Rupika who lived in the village nearby, every evening and returning to the estate by 9.30 pm on the same day. Once in a way he would advise Arnolis to have his dinner and go to sleep without staying awake, for his return, since Sumith had a duplicate key to the front room and could sneak in without waking him. Arnolis, wondered why his boss had not returned after his visit to his sweetheart. He kept his fingers crossed expecting him at any moment. At about 6.00 am, he heard the heart rending news that his master was lying dead in a pool of blood, near a stream, at the foothill of the estate. He rushed to the spot and saw him lying dead with severe chest injuries. Before long, the Police arrived at the scene of murder and started their investigations. They soon found a brass button a few feet away from the body and picked it up with a piece of cloth. Body The body of the late Superintendent was taken away to the mortuary for a postmortem. The brass button was shown to all the employees of the estate but none knew of a man who wore a coat with brass buttons. The Police continued with their investigations but made no headway. A few days later the Police received an anonymous letter in Tamil stating that the murderer of the Superintendent was Rupika's brother, Cyril and that the gold chain around her neck was the one which he was wearing at the time of his death. Cyril and Rupika were questioned by the Police about the contents of the letter, when a grieving Rupika produced a letter written to her by the deceased, stating that the gold chain given to her by him was a token of his love for her and that under no circumstances should she remove it from her neck. The Police realised that the anonymous letter had been sent to mislead them. Postmortem After the postmortem the remains of Sumith were taken to his parents residence in Kelaniya. Rupika dressed in a white Kandyan saree with a white lace jacket to match and accompanied by a close friend attended the funeral. No sooner, than the stunningly beautiful and attractive Rupika entered the funeral house the large and distinguished crowd present stood spellbound admiring her beauty and innocent look. All the ladies present were talking to each other in hushed tones wanting to know who she was and little did they realise that she was an innocent village maiden. Rupika knelt before the remains of her lover and paid her last respects. She stood up and holding the feet of the deceased burst into uncontrollable sobs and a few minutes later fainted unable to withstand her sorrow. Grieving A grieving Mrs. Nagahawatta rushed to her assistance and raising the head of the poor girl sprinkled some water on to her face in a bid to revive her. Rupika revived soon and sat on a chair placed close to the coffin. Sobbing softly she was seen occasionally caressing the head of her sweetheart a sight which was most unbearable to witness, as seen from the tears streaming down the face of many a lady. After the funeral Rupika became hysterical and was shown to a Doctor by Mrs. Nagahawatta, who gave her a sedative and put her to sleep. The following morning Mrs. Nagahawatta requested her nephew, Mahinda to take Rupika and her friend in his car all the way to her residence. Before her departure Rupika knelt before Mrs. Nagahawatta and paid her respects to her. About four months later Mrs. Nagahawatta paid a surprise visit to Rupika's house and was greatly moved to hear that notwithstanding her poverty, she had given alms to the sangha on the seventh day and at the end of the third month after Sumith's death in his memory. Mrs. Nagahawatta noted with a sense of sadness the mud and wattle hut in which this pretty girl lived and she vowed to replace it with a decent house. A few months later she fulfilled her promise by building a two bedroomed house adjacent to the old residence complete with pipe-borne water and electricity. She furnished the house and provided a fridge and a Television set. Rupika greatly touched by her would-have-been mother-in-law's generosity thanked her profusely for all her assistance to her. Mrs. Nagahawatta promised to come and see to her needs as often as she could and invited Rupika to pay her a visit whenever she can and she promised to send her a vehicle for the purpose. Ailing aunt About six months after Sumith's death, Rupika accompanied by a friend went to Peradeniya to see an ailing aunt who lived about two miles away from the town. On their way back along a lonely stretch of road, Rupika noticed a dark tall man in a dark black coat with several brass buttons on it walking towards them from the opposite direction and as the man passed by he looked very closely at her, paused for a moment and then went away. Rupika seemed to have seen this man before but could not remember when and where. She told her friend about the suspicious man and looked back through curiosity to find the man following them, keeping a reasonable distance. Fear gripped Rupika so she and her friend started to walk very rapidly reached the bus stand and then boarded a bus to Kandy to her relief she found that the man had gone away. Suddenly going down memory lane she remembered that this was the same man who on the day before Sumith's death who had inquired from her of a place to by a chew of betel. Terribly frightened she informed her brother about it. Her brother advised her to stay indoors for some time since the man has obviously recognised her and might come to silence her once and for all. Vigil Thereafter, her brother kept vigil till late midnight. A few days later around midnight he observed in the distance a man with a torch light focussed on to the ground moving forward along the pathway leading to the estate. Having come up to the main road he paused for a moment and then crossed the road and walked slowly into Rupika's garden. Cyril armed with a stout pole, hid behind some plantain trees near his house and waited till the man approached the front door armed with a knife. As he was about to tap on the door Cyril dealt a severe blow on to his head but missed its mark in the darkness but the blow struck the man right below his right ear. He spun around and fell dazed, but quickly took to his heels before Cyril could catch him. In the process he left behind his coloured shawl which was wrapped around his head. The following day, the brother and sister informed the Police about the incident and handed over to them the coloured shawl and sought Police protection. The Police examined the shawl and found the burnt mark of a laundry iron on one side of the shawl. The Police went to the area described by Rupika and questioned several laundrymen to ascertain if anyone of them could remember the name of the owner of the shaw! Recognised One of the dhobies recognised the shawl as the one which was accidentally burnt by him while ironing it. Having obtained the name and the address of the owner of the shawl from him, the Police then traced the man and questioned him at length about the shawl. The man admitted ownership, and said that he gave it to a man called Pakiam of Tempo Estate, since he often did odd jobs for him. With the assistance of the Superintendent of the estate, the Police examined the room occupied by Pakiam, the Kangany of the estate and found in it the purse and the torch of the deceased Sumith. The gold chain which was around Sumith's neck at the time of his death, was recover from a pawn shop in Kandy. The owner of the pawn shop recognised Pakiam as the man who pawned the gold chain. Questioned about the brass button found near the body of the deceased, Pakiam confessed that it is one of the brass buttons from his black coat which was found hidden in a suitcase in his sisters line room. The brass buttons on the coat and the one found near the body of the deceased were found to be the same in size and appearance. Pakiam confessed to the murder with the assistance of his son-in-law, Nathan and said that the late Superintendent had punished Nathan for some wrongdoing and that Nathan planned the murder and he assisted him. He said that both of them waylaid Sumith on his way back from Rupika's house and they overpowered him and Nathan stabbed him repeatedly on the chest and in the course of the struggle to overcome Sumith the deceased tore off the brass button from his coat. Nathan was arrested and the murder weapon was recovered from him. Both of them were charged for the premeditated murder of Sumith Nagahawatta, convicted and was sentenced to death. Mrs. Nagahawatta was full of praise for the part played by the brother and sister in bringing the murderers to justice. Married About three years after Sumith's death in response to repeated requests by his Aunt, Mrs. Nagahawatta, Mahinda married pretty Rupika. The bride was given away jointly by Mrs. Nagahawatta and Rupika's mother. All expenses were borne gladly by Mrs. Nagahawatta. The couple stayed with Mahinda's parents for about a year and thereafter shifted to a beautiful new house adjoining Mrs. Nagahawatta's residence built by her as a gift in memory of her son. Weeks after his marriage Mahinda realised what a wonderful wife he had. In a very short time she had won the admiration of his parents. Although Mrs. Nagahawatta was happy that her nephew married Rupika, she greatly regretted and felt sad in losing such a wonderful duty conscious girl as her daughter-in-law. But she did not feel the loss since Rupika always looked after the welfare of her would-have-been mother-in-law as well ! by George Tillekeratne |
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| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
Arnolis the cook in the Superintendent's bungalow in the Dale Tea
Estate in Kandy was suddenly awakened by the voices of several labourers
shouting "Dorai, Dorai" in the wee hours of a very cold and
misty morning one day.
