Tale of the quarrelsome couple

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

The husband and wife quarrelled frequently on flimsy issues in their day to day affairs that made life miserable for both of them and for their young children as well. But nobody knew the actual cause behind those quarrels although some said it was due to the infidelity of the husband. Others blamed it on religious differences between them. According to police the man was married to a woman of a different religious faith and their three children also followed their mothers faith. According to police there were constant quarrels with his wife and children as they did not convert to his religious faith. He was more of an eccentric character, they said.

His wife too had told police that he used to talk to a mysterious woman in the night by using his cellular phone. Although she questioned him on several occasions regarding these phone calls he denied any knowledge of having an illicit affair with her. Whatever the cause, the couple led an estranged life later in their marriage. The dark truth was buried under layers of silence, according to some. However few people in the village knew about their estrangement and few in the neighbourhood heard them quarrelling. According to people in the neighbourhood they were not a quarrelsome couple for that matter. But the animosity between the husband and wife over the years had grown to a such an extent that eventually led to the tragedy. Kumarage Dassanayake fell in love with Sriyani Renuka and married her. At the very outset their were no rifts between them regarding their religious differences. They led a peaceful life at Siyabalagoda in the Polgasovita area with their two daughters and a son for some time. Some time ago the Kahathuduwa police settled a serious dispute that arose between the husband and wife. But subsequently there were no serious issue affecting them, the police said.

Kumarage Dassanayake(45) was a minor employee of a reputed Ayurveda company in Kottawa. The ghastly episode that occurred last week was so brutal in nature that it was on everybody's lips following the exposure on the print and the electronic media. It shocked the whole nation particularly the villagers of Siyabalagoda. Last Monday Dassanayake returned home early after attending to his work on his motorcycle carrying with him a bottle of kerosene oil. When his wife inquired as to why he had brought kerosene oil home he told her that it was the purpose of cleaning his motorcycle. That day he dismantled the motor cycle and had cleaned it thoroughly. While doing so he siphoned petrol from the motor cycle to a bottle and kept it secretly in his custody. As usual around 9.30. p.m. that day his wife and the three children went to sleep.

They were a poor family who slept in a small room in the home. While the mother and the son slept on a mat laid on the ground the two daughters slept on a bed. The horrible thing happened that day (1st February) around 10.30 pm. The eldest daughter woke up suddenly and noticed the room light burning. When she inquired from her father he replied the light will be switched off once the job was done. A few minutes later he stormed into the room and poured petrol on his children and his wife. Thereafter he doused himself with petrol and set everyone in the room ablaze. Prior to committing the heinous act he made sure that no one in the house escaped and fastened the door locks. His death wish would have been to consume everyone into the flames, a police officer said.

That night around 10.30 pm the neighbours heard loud cries and screams of the children and their mother coming from the direction of their home.

The neighbours sensed something terrible was happening inside the home and rushed to the spot to see what it was. When they got closer the screams became much louder. They also found the doors securely locked from inside. In fact they used sheer physical force to break into the home to salvage the unfortunate family. When they entered the room they found the three children and their mother severely burnt and groaning in pain. Their father too was severely burnt. All were in a state of shock and were grasping for breath.

They found the eldest child, daughter Sewvandi Dassanayake (19) was already dead, while Madushani Dassnayake (15), Shahan Dassanayake (8) and Sriyani Renuka were burnt severely. The neighbours rushed the boy Shehan Dassanayke (8) to the Wathara hospital while Madushani Dassanayake was rushed to the Kalubovila hospital. The father and the mother were rushed to the Colombo National hospital.

The two daughters, the son and the father died due to excessive burn injuries while the mother was fortunate enough to survive the ordeal.

Police said the body of Kumarage Dassanayake was handed over to his relatives at Aranayake while the bodies of the two daughters and the son were buried at a cemetery in the Kahathuduwa area last week.