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| Sunday, 9 October 2005 |
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Kumari
Cooray suicide : Police probe security lapse
by Jayampathy Jayasinghe The Colombo Crime Division (CCD) and the Kollupitiya Police investigating the suicide of Kumari Cooray who set herself ablaze on Thursday morning is probing, why the three Ministerial Security Division (MSD) officers on duty failed to prevent the woman from entering the premises where SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem was residing and then allowing her to commit suicide. According to Colombo Crime Division's Director SSP Sarath Lugoda, the deceased Kumari Cooray first attempted to enter the house of SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem on Thursday around 12.00 midnight but was prevented by the MSD Security officers. However she returned there again in a three wheeler taxi around 1.30 a.m and managed to enter the premises by scaling over the wall. Thereafter she requested the three wheel driver to hand over her bag which he did. When she confronted the three MSD officers inside the premises she had told them that she wished to meet Hakeem. While the security officers had just looked on she poured petrol on her body and set herself ablaze. She had run for about 50 meters and had fallen down when the security officers were able to put out the fire. According OIC Kollupitiya Chief Inspector Palitha Siriwardena, the deceased Kumari Cooray had lodged a complaint at the Kollupitiya Police station last August against Hakeem. However the three wheeler taxi driver was not arrested as he was not involved in any way. Meanwhile the city Coroner who held the inquest had returned a verdict of suicide. |
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