Shocking: Paramour kills lover at point blank range

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

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It was certainly not a whirlwind romance as some people in the village had predicted. The villagers had misconceptions about the affair from the very start. They were under the impression that Anupama a 15 year old school girl had a long relationship with a young man named Jayalth Kumara from the Gomarakandal area. But it wasn’t so. The young girl only had a mild flirtation with him for a brief spell.

She was a school girl and too young to be in a serious love affair with a young able bodied man working for the Civil Defence Force. Their affair did not even last for more than 4 months when tragedy befell them. Both were natives of Galkadawela in the Gomrankadawala and their homes were also located in close proximity.

Jayalath Kumara (22) was enlisted in the Civil Defence Force to serve his native village. He received a comprehensive training in fire arms handling at his training camp. His job was to protect innocent villagers from marauding terrorist who swept through their villages rampaging killing farmers and leaving behind a trail of destruction. Jayalath Kumara was deep in love with Anupama the school girl damsel from Gomarankadawala. But there was stiff resistance from her family. Her mother, sister and her brother wholeheartedly opposed the affair. They were keen that Anupama concentrate on her studies instead of marriage because of her tender age. It was because she was too young to be given in marriage right now. Besides that, she had to be encouraged to continue with her studies. Although a Prefect at school but she was stripped of the title later when school officials came to know about her love affair with Jayalath Kumara.

While their secret love affair blossomed the girl’s uncle, a Vice Principle of a school by profession came to know about it and was perturbed about it. He vehemently opposed their courtship as the girl was of a tender age. In fact Anupama’s sister was a Woman Police Constable and her brother who graduated from a university was employed in a Super Market in the area. They came from a middle class family in the village that commanded respect fron the natives. Anupama was well built and had a mature appearance was somewhat deceptive despite her tender age. Due to tremendous pressure being brought on her by her family she quietly began to distance herself from her lover Jayalath Kumara. But Kumara was thoroughly annoyed at her sudden change of behaviour. He felt that she was trying to betray him and was quite annoyed. All what he wanted was to cultivate a love affair with her and possess her.

However their brief romance was short lived. It only lasted for about four months and ended up in a tragic disaster. The tragedy happened on November 2nd at Gomarakadawela. That morning Jayath Kumara reported for work as usual and removed his firearm with magazines loaded with bullets. Around 7 p.m. that day he visited Anupama at her home to discuss something urgent and personnel. As Kumara was clad in uniform he had taken his firearm along with him. Anupama’s house was eerily quiet that evening as she and her mother were present. Kumara having spoken to Anupama in a harsh tone in the drawing room ordered her to go to the adjacent room to discuss something private about their relationship. Her mother Leelawathie too was present when he spoke to her. He told Anupama to be in readiness to step out of the home to go elsewhere. But the stubborn girl refused to budge an inch fearing for her life. As nothing worked out according to his plan Kumara waited for a while. Then without any hesitation he aimed his firearm at her and shot her at point blank range repeatedly on her chest. She instantaneously slumped to the ground and died immediately. When police visited the home they found her body laying in a pool of blood. There were 13 bullets mark entries on her body, the Police Media Spokesman, SSP Rangith Gunesekera told the “Sunday Observer.”

Meanwhile Leelawathie, the mother who witnessed the brutal killing of her daughter grappled with the assassin fiercely to overpower him. But in the course of the struggle the assassin shot Leelawathie twice on her chest wounding her seriously. Jayalath Kumara then committed suicide by aiming the firearm at his head and shooting himself. He too was lying on the ground still alive and bleeding profusely when the police arrived. Both Laeelawathie and Kumara were then rushed to the Gomarakadawela hospital in a critical condition. Later they were transferred to the Government hospital at Trincomalee. Jayalath Kumara succumbed to his injuries that night at the hospital. Leelawathie battling for her life is now lying in a critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit at the Trincomalee government hospital. She fought bravely that night to over power the assassin. According to police the assassin’s father too had suffered from bouts of insanity in the past. OIC Gomarankdawela Police Station, Sub Inspector W.M. Siriwardena told the tragedy could have been averted if her mother or any family member had complained to the police about the dilemma that Anupama faced.