A sad twist to a happy tale, that ended in tragedy

By Ananda Agalakada

It was a usual morning for Raja and his wife Kalimuththu Sivarajani Lechchamma. They managed with the meagre income that Raja earned and life went on as usual. Raja had fallen in love with Sivarajini when she was very young. Sivarajani was beautiful and did not hesitate when Raja proposed marriage to her.

They were married in a simple Hindu ceremony and life went on. They became parents to two children- a son and a daughter.

After sometime Sivarajini thought that if she had to give a better life for her family, she would have to leave her marital home and search for greener pastures. She began applying for housemaids' jobs in the Middle East and was fortunate to land with one in Saudi Arabia.

Her two children were too small to realise that their mother was leaving them and going abroad. However, time went by. Sivaranjani was sending money to Raja to manage the home front and he was playing his part well.

He took good care of the children and always communicated with Sivarajini about the day-to-day happenings in the home.

However, Raja found that the regular telephone calls from Sivarajini were not forthcoming. She was trotting out various excuses and was evading Raja. He felt that something untoward was happening and could not come to terms with his wife's attitude .

He still thought that he would somehow do whatever he could for the sake of his children and continue living. He washed them, fed them and took good care of them Life went on although he was saddened about his wife's don't care attitude.

Suddenly one day as if a bolt from the blue, Sivarajini told Raja that she was ending her marriage with him and was living with another man in Saudi Arabia. Raja was too shocked for words although he sensed that Sivarajini might be having an affair with someone, he felt that she too loved the children and would soon realise her folly and come back to him. When Sivarajini told otherwise ,he was devastated and felt that there was no future for him or for his children.

Seven-year-old Francis Ramya Chaturangi was a student of Kathirasen Maha Vidyalaya in Yatiyanthota. three-year-old Francis Sasanka was her brother.

He would playfully stay at home with his father until his sister returned from school. 'appa when would Akka return was his costant query”. His older sister was like a mother to him because he missed a mother's love. The brother and sister were fond of one another and never troubled their father .

They were good, loving children who suffered at the hands of destiny.

On that fateful day Raja went to bed with his son and daughter. He was desperate to find a solution to his predicament.

He could not sleep that night as he was restless. He kept tossing and turning and sleep would not overtake him. His subconscious mind was playing hell with him.

His two innocent children were in a dream world with not a care in the world. These innocent babes were oblivious to the torture the father was undergoing. When all of a sudden he got up from his bed in the dead of night and resolved to commit the most bestial crime on earth-killing his own children.

“I was despondent that my wife had taken a final decision. When I got the message from my wife, I could not control my emotion and I decided to commit suicide with my displeasure after killing my daughter and son” he told Police. Raja found a sari and a belt from the school bag. He tied it around the neck of his son and daughter.

Later he hanged the two from the beam of the roof in the bedroom where they slept. After committing the crime Raja told police he could not bear to see the lifeless bodies of his two children hanging from the beam and that he took them down and placed them on the bed.They had withered as two flowers which blossomed on the earth.

Raja further said that he wanted to commit suicide soon after killing his children. He cut his arm with a knife.

His second try was to hang himself with a sari. With neighbours interfering and shouting at him he left for his brother’s nearby house.

Later Raja told his brother what happened in his house a few minute ago. His brother could not believe his ears at what Raja told him that he had killed his son and daughter.

His brother had informed police Emergency on119. The Yatiyanthota police rushed to the scene and arrested the suspect who was arrested for murdering his two children.

The Crime OIC Si Ananda and a police team are conducting further investigations on the instructions of OIC IP Asela Herath of Yatiyantota police.