Grave for the bridegroom

In the latest and one of the most horrifying abduction and murder cases, detectives have pieced together a story of betrayal and brutality in a bid to extort millions of rupees from a medical family in Kotahena. The victim was Vicknesvarakadadshan Mahodarar a 27-year-old electronics and communications engineer who had just returned after obtaining his university degree and was apparently looking for a bride, with big time brokers and dowries coming into such arranged marriages.

Into this picture comes long time family friend Kuruppanan Gunaseelan who was also helping in the renovation of their house at St. Lucia’s Street in Kotahena. On the fateful day Mahodarar is reported to have gone with his dentist father to Wellawatte on July 15 for a job interview and on their return they parted company at the Jampettah - Galpotha Junction at 11.30 a.m.

The father proceeded home while Mahodarar reportedly went on another mission with Mr. Gunaseelan and the horrible mystery and murder began to take shape from that point. When Mahodarar failed to return home after two hours had gone by, his father made a complaint to the Kotahena Police.

According to evidence gathered by the police, Mahodarar was strangled by his kidnappers and killers within hours but the spine-chilling, heart-breaking episode went on for days. During the ensuing days, Mr. Gunaseelan who was known to the family for more than 12 years due to the reconstruction and welding work he was entrusted with in their house, accompanied them when they went to the police on several occasions.

To dispel the family’s doubts and prove that he was still living, Mahodarar’s purse was planted in front of the family’s residence. Three days after the disappearance, the kidnappers’ call demanding a ransom of Rs. 5 million was answered by the victim’s brother Dr. V. Kirupaalar.“I did not recognize the voice of the caller, who spoke fluent Sinhalese though I suspected he was a Tamil,” he told The Sunday Times.

The victim’s relatives did not inform the police about the phone calls. Colombo North Senior Superintendent Jayantha Kulatilake, who took over the investigation at the request of Dr. Kirupaalar, appointed two teams to carry out a search for Mahodarar.

“The kidnappers wanted my father to immediately hand over the ransom at a location determined by them,” Dr. Kirupaalar said. Acceding to this demand, the family made the monetary arrangements but kept requesting to speak to Mahodarar when the phone calls continued throughout the following days.

The family’s plea was finally granted on July 25 when the victim’s mother received a phone call from her son who seemed to be crying for help. However, she could not be certain if the crying voice on the phone was a recording, or even an imitation of her son’s voice.

“Without our knowledge the police had tapped into our phone line and intercepted all incoming calls, which enabled them to learn about the demand,” Dr. Kirupaalar said.

“I advised the family not to hand over the ransom money but instead keep the money in a briefcase,” SSP Kulatilake said. After having traced the location from which the kidnappers’ phone calls were coming, the police arrested Kannan, one of Gunaseelan’s employees, while he was on the phone to the victim’s brother.

“A police officer seized the telephone receiver and told me Kannan had been arrested,” Dr. Kirupaalar said. Kannan reportedly confessed to have been an accomplice of Gunaseelan, who had allegedly masterminded the entire kidnapping. The police took Gunaseelan into custody on July 28 near Kochchikade Church.

Upon his capture Gunaseelan reportedly admitted he had lured Mahodarar to Puwakpitiya near Avissawella on the pretext of arranging a meeting with a girl. Of his own accord, Mahodarar joined his confidant Gunaseelan on his motorcycle at the Jampettah- Galpotha Street junction on the morning of July 15.

According to police, on reaching Puwakpitiya Mahodarar was made to wait with Kannan while Gunaseelan went back to Colombo to find out if the son’s disappearance was noted by the family. However, before he went he told Mahodarar he would return to the same location with a girl.

When Gunaseelan returned at night on the same day the victim was allegedly taken to a remote rubber estate in the area, where the two kidnappers tied and gagged him. As the police later discovered, Mahodarar was strangled on the same night of his disappearance, three days before the kidnappers demanded the ransom.

On July 28, the police were led to the rubber plantation by Gunaseelan and Kannan, where the body was found in an advanced state of decomposition. On the same day Gunaseelan was arrested with his accomplice Kannan for the alleged arranged kidnapping and murder of Mahodarar.

Further investigations on Mahodarar’s killing are still in progress to ascertain if these criminals were responsible for other disappearances, ransom demands and killings that had taken place in the recent past. On their conviction, the two suspected killers will most likely face a life-long prison sentence.