No political pressure, says IGP:

Kahawatte killing: police seek eyewitnesses

By Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

The cold-blooded killing of a mother and her daughter at Kotakethana-Kahawatta still dominates newspaper headlines even after three weeks of the crime due to the turn of events. People of Kahawatta who flocked to the streets during the past three weeks staged mass protests by burning tyres on the highway what they did five months ago to show their displeasure over the Kahawatta police for their inability to arrest the suspects forthwith.

At this stage IGP, N.K. Illangakoon directed CID sleuths to investigate and bring to book the culprits involved in the heinous crimes.

It may be recalled that people of Kahawatta were besieged by murders of nine old women during the past several years.

However following the deployment of the CID and police teams from the Ratnapura division the suspects linked to the homicides were arrested.

It was only then that the fear psychosis diminished and peace and tranquillity returned to the villages of Opatha, Kotakethana, Niladura and Divulgala in the Kahawatta area. But it was just a respite until the ugly monster raised its head again three weeks ago.

The victims this time were the innocent mother and her beloved school going daughter who were butchered by a drug dealer who feared that his illicit trade would be exposed by them.

At a media briefing held last Monday at the police headquarters, IGP Illangakoon appealed to the public of Kahawatta to give evidence regarding the killing as he believed that some persons may have witnessed the gruesome incident. “Such evidence would be vital for the police to conduct further investigations.”

He said Kahawatta came into the limelight following the killings of nine women from 2008.

The police, however, have arrested the suspects linked to these homicides after exhaustive investigations.

He said that evidence such as eye witnesses or circumstantial evidence was essential to solve a crime. But it was easy and swifter to solve a crime when there was an eye witnesses' account.

However, it takes time to solve a crime and one cannot say the duration involved in it.

It all depends on gathering of evidence that points out to a crime. Referring to the recent double murder at Kahawatta they had to rely on scientific evidence owing to the absence of eye witnesses.

The main suspect Raju and his wife and the three wheeler driver linked to the recent Kahawatta killings have been arrested.

The IGP further said following the double murder, Raju and his wife were questioned several times but were released as they denied any knowledge of the killing.

However police were suspicious about their denials and began gathering scientific evidence.

“We did not arrest the couple right away on suspicion. Had we done that the suspects would have to be placed in remand custody within 24 hours. Instead we let them go and gathered further evidence.” The couple said they were at their home with their children on January 31 night.

But, when their telephone rang around 8.45 p.m. none had answered the telephone call. When Police questioned Raju’s wife why she did not answer the telephone, she became silent.

But later when police questioned her at length, she admitted to having made a false statement to the police.

This became the turning point for the CID sleuths to unravel the mystery surrounding the deaths of the mother and her daughter at Kotakethana.

The IGP replying to questions posed by the media said the motive for the killing was related to a drug problem. He said the victim’s house was in close proximity to the house of the accused. When the mother and the daughter visited the home of the accused they found sachets similar to those used for transporting heroin.

An argument ensued when police made inquiries about the stuff. Asked whether there was any political pressure to sweep the matter under the rug, IGP Illangakoon said there was no political pressure whatsoever from any quarter.

They found that the suspect’s brother was a Member of the Godakawela Pradeshiya Sabha. He was arrested and produced in court and remanded till inquiries are completed.

Allegations

However, there were no previous allegations against Raju. Asked whether Raju had killed a person while at a restaurant that belonged to him, the IGP said they were not aware of it but would investigate the matter once they received a complaint.

Asked whether Raju's elder daughter had made a statement that she saw her father resting on a sofa at the drawing room with blood soaked clothes that night, the IGP said the daughter’s statement had been recorded, but its content cannot be divulged.

Replying to a question, the IGP said that it was regrettable the people had set ablaze houses that belonged to the suspects. Only a court of law has the right to pronounce whether a person was guilty or not. “We will take action against those who set ablaze the homes of the suspects. Vital evidence has been destroyed due to the setting ablaze of the homes,” he said.

Asked why police protection was not given to the homes after the arrest of the suspects, the IGP replied the few policemen on duty at the homes were not in a position to prevent hordes of people torching the homes.

It was in April last year that villagers of Niladura in Divulwela staged a mass public protest by burning tyres on roads to vent their anger over the inability of the Kahawatta police to solve the mysterious murders of seven elderly women in the areas of Kotakethana - Divulgala, Opatha, Katange, and Niladura villages.

The women were killed by being hacked with sharp cutting weapons and their bodies covered with clothes to conceal the wounds. Following the upheaval in the village, several police and CID teams began investigating the mysterious murders that led to the arrest of several suspects linked to them.

We then heard of the killing of a mother and her young daughter, a school girl who had been hacked to death by an assassin while they were at home. Police have identified the deceased as Nayana Nilmini (52) and her daughter Kavindi Chaturangani(18), a schoolgirl of Ferguson College, Ratnapura.

The deceased were residents of Kotakethana, a hamlet in the Kahawatta area.