Drama in Dehiattekandiya

Policemen in disguise arrest Malaya and his gang:

For several months sleuths from the Central Province Special Investigative Unit was looking high and low for a man named Bokola Gamralalage Tilakaratne alias Malaya, a resident of Hungamalagama at Dehiattekandiya. He had disappeared from his native village at Dehiattekandiya and nobody had any clue about his whereabouts.

Tilekaratne was wanted by the police in connection with the double murder of Game Guard Dingiri Banda whose throat was slit while Dingiri Banda was in a state of intoxication at the Wasgamuwa Circuit Bungalow. Tilakaratne had also stabbed the Circuit Bungalow keeper.

Thereafter the man disappeared until he was caught by the sleuths of the Central Province Investigative Unit a fortnight ago. A tip off received by the Central Province DIG, Kingsley Ekanayake, led to his arrest. According to police Tillakaratne was seen often at Palewatte, Gallella -Devanagala in Mawanella area.

The information was conveyed to SP Gamini Seneviratne of the Kandy Police who instructed OIC Special Investigation Unit, Chief Inspector Farook to arrest the suspect. Accordingly four policemen were despatched to Devanagala to arrest him.

It was on March 19 when the four policemen surrounded the house where Tilakeratne had taken refuge for several months. He was hiding in a house that belonged to a relative. Tilakaratne (40) was a farmer at Dehiattekandiya.

He was known in the village as Konhora Malaya alias B. Tilakaratne. He fled the village following the arrest of his close buddies viz, R.M. Jayaweera A.M. Nimal karunaratne alias Wedi Chuti, an army deserter, M.J.S Sampath Kumara and A.M Sunil Bandara alias Rahlee all from his village at Hungamalagama Dehiattekandiya.

Tongues in the village began to wag soon about Tilakaratne's involvement in the Wasgamuwa double murder. Following the arrest of Tilakaratne police recovered the blood stained sarong and the shirt that he wore on the day of the murder.

The knife used for slashing the neck of Game Guard Dingiri Banda and three cartridges were found hidden behind Tilakaratne's house. Dried blood stains were also visible on the knife, police said.

The four suspects allegedly responsible for the killing of the Game Guard and Bungalow Keeper were arrested by the Chief Inspector Farook and his men who went to Dehiattekandiya disguised as businessmen.

The suspects while being interrogated had admitted about the double murder which they had committed at the Wasgamuwa Circuit Bungalow. However suspect Tilakaratne who slashed the throat of Game Guard Dingiri Banda escaped. He went into hiding after hearing stories from villagers of his involvement in the double murder.

The brutal double murder shocked not only the residents of Wasgamuwa but also those living in the adjacent areas of Dehiattekandiya as well. When the news reached Wasgamuwa and the adjacent villages of Dehiattekandiya people began trembling with fear about LTTE's intrusion into Wasgamuwa National Park.

This resulted in the temporary closure of the national park for security reasons. Soon the army and Special Task Force were deployed to comb the vast jungle to track down the LTTE cadres.

When Police visited the bungalow they found bodies of the bungalow keeper, N.G. Samaranayake (45) and the Game Guard D. M. Dingiri Banda (52) inside the bungalow. Dingiri Banda's neck was slashed while Samaranayake was shot in the body and head.

Bungalow keeper Samaranayake's body was found on the kitchen floor while Game Guard Dingiri Banda's body was found on the bedroom floor.

Following the arrest of the four suspects police recovered the shot gun used in the killing from Wedi-Chutti's home. He was an army deserter who was notorious for poaching and illicit felling of timber from the Wasgamuwa park. The gun used in the killing had been officially issued to Game Guard Dingiri Banda' who kept it in an iron safe at the circuit bungalow.

On the fatal day Bungalow keeper Samaranayake and the Game Guard Dingiri Banda had hosted a party at the Bungalow with suspects providing them with free illicit liquor, roasted jungle fowl and porcupine flesh. It was a slip of the tongue that led to the murder of both men. Game Guard Dingiri Banda in his drunken state had bragged about his new official shot gun issued to him with cartridges.

As they partied into the late night the Bungalow keeper and the Game guard was punch drunk and fell asleep. They were so drunk that Samaranayake was lying on the kitchen floor and Dingiribanda sleeping on the bed.

The suspects decided to kill Dingiri-Banda and remove his official gun. Tilakaratne who had a knife in his hand walked up to Dingiri Banda and slashed his throat several times. He then went to the kitchen and stabbed Samaratunga several times on the body.

They later broke open the steel cupboard and robbed the official gun and the cartridges. They also removed the Walkie Talkies issued to the Game Guard. While the two men were struggling with stab injuries, Wedi Chutti went into the room and shot both Samaratunga and Dingiri Banda. They later buried the Walkie Talkies and three empty cartridges in the jungle and went to Dehiattekandiya.

Police learnt later that Bungalow keeper Samaranayake and Game Guard Dingiri Banda, had cultivated a close relationship with the suspects at Dehiattekandiya area. The men had poached in the Wasgamuwa jungles with the help of Samaranayake, Dingiri Banda and other Game Guards.

They had also brewed illicit liquor. The Wasgamuwa circuit bungalow is located 14 kilometres from the main entrance. The case against the suspect will be taken for hearing before the Dambulla Magistrate on April 2.