Illicit affair with ex-soldier leads to businessman's death

On a tip off the Kuliyapitiya police Special Investigations Unit (SIU) launched a relentless investigation into the five month old murder case of a businessman that baffled them. Finally they learnt that a man who had been in the employment of a poultry farm at Giriulla in the Narammala area was missing from his home following the killing of the wealthy businessman named S. Wijayabahu at his home.

The police came to know the man was an ex-soldier, in the army. He was a deserter who was around 37 years, who was attached to a regiment in the army.

The wealthy businessman who owned the poultry farm was brutally attacked and chopped with a sword by an assassin who strode into his home while his wife was away.

Police subsequently came to know that due to some estrangement with her husband, the wife lived separately in a rented house at Nittambuwa and at Moratuwa. Police also learnt that prior to the murder on June 5, the wife had gone to Singapore on a private visit with her daughters, along with the army deserter.

The wife had acted in several teledramas in the past, according to information. While spending a holiday in Singapore with Wijayabahu’s wife, the army deserter had returned to Sri Lanka alone while others remained in Singapore.

Sword

On June 5, the army deserter visited Wijayabahu’s poultry farm in the middle of the night at Giriulla, Narammala. He had gone there carrying a sword to assassinate the businessman. Police also learnt that the teledrama actress had given the contract to her paramour to assassinate her husband only 10 days before he was killed.

The army deserter having entered the poultry farm, first gagged the watcher named Nimal and tied him with a piece of rope and thereafter walked towards the direction of Wijayabahu’s home.

It was a modest upstairs home where Wijayabahu occupied a room on the ground floor while Nilmini, the domestic servant occupied a room upstairs.

The army deserter then knocked at the main door of Wijayabahu’s home and shouted that Nimal his watcher had been bitten by a poisonous serpent.

On hearing someone scream, Wijayabahu opened the door with only a towel wrapped around his waist. When he stepped outside, the army deserter chopped him with the sword inflicting severe cut injuries on his body.

Wijayabahu slumped to the ground bleeding profusely.

The neighbours on hearing the crises rushed to the spot and found Wijayabahu lying in a pool of blood at his doorstep.

He was gasping for breath and was muttering something.

Hospital

The neighbours rushed him to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

After investigating the murder case for nearly five months police finally found several clues that lead to the murder.

They wanted to question the ex-soldier on whether he was linked to the gruesome killing. In the meantime gossip began to go around in the village that the ex-soldier has had a passionate love affair with the teledrama actress. When Wijayabahu came to know of the illicit affair that his wife had with the ex-soldier, he fired him from his job at the poultry farm. This happened almost six months prior to the gruesome episode.

The police suspected the ex-soldier owing to his past criminal track record. He was involved in a robbery of a lorry transporting paddy at Anuradhapura.

Guilty

The Court found him guilty after trial and imposed a fine of Rs. 25,000 and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment.

The soldier was also charged for attempted murder of a person some time ago and the case is now pending before courts. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) officers while on the trail of the suspect found him absconding.

The suspect had escaped from jail while serving a prison sentence.

They also learnt that the suspect had travelled to Singapore on many occasions. However police finally traced him along with the four suspects linked to the gruesome killing.

They were taken into custody from their hideouts at Narammala, Alawwa, Homagama, Hanguranketha and Hatharaliyadda areas. The former teledrama actress too was finally arrested by the police on November 28. She was the mother of two daughters and a son.

The ex-soldier after killing Wijayabahu had attempted to return to Singapore, but was not successful in obtaining a visa. He had furnished a bogus passport under a bogus name and his visa application was rejected by the Singapore government. However he obtained a visa and travelled to Malaysia under a false name and returned to the country last month.

Hiding

The suspect thereafter went into hiding. The reason for killing the businessman was due to the infatuation he had with his wife. Their affair started about six months ago while the ex-soldier was employed at the poultry farm.

The woman also had grandiose plans to travel to the United States with her paramour and start a new life there, according to the police.

Following the arrest of the suspects, police found the sword that was used in the killing.

The sword along with two hand bombs were found buried on a shrub adjacent to the poultry farm. Police said that the suspects along with the weapons will be produced in the Magistrate Courts at Kuliyapitiya after the completion of investigations.

The Police Special Investigating Unit (SIU) of the Kuliyapitiya unit followed the guidelines of Senior DIG North Western Province (Wayamba) Pujith Jayasundera, SSP Kuliyapitiya S.P. Siriwardena, ASP Piyasiri Fernando in solving the case.

The SIU team comprised OIC, Inspector Kasun Wijesekera, Sub Inspector Tissa Bandara, Police Sergeants Wimala Surendra Wickremanayake, Sirisoma, Priyantha, and Gnanaratne and police Constables, Chamal, Sumedha and Woman Police Constable Mihirani.