News
Just one month into the year and 30 killings
More than 30 killings have been reported countrywide in the past three weeks, marking a sharp increase in crime rates at the beginning of the year, police said.
In the latest incident a wealthy electric-fitting shop owner from Nugegoda was killed last Saturday and the Special Crimes Division of the Mirhana Police station is probing whether the killing was over business rivalry.
“Initial investigations have revealed that 54-year-old H.S.K.Hewagama was tortured and then suffocated,” Officer in Charge of the Crimes Division, Inspector Nimal Karunaratne told the Sunday Times.
Mr. Hewagama who lived on his own, except for a boarder, was at his home on Subhraramaya Temple Road, in Gangodawila when the incident occurred.
Killed over business rivalry? The house of the murdered businessmen in Nugegoda. Pic by Nilan Maligaspe
According to police, the boarder, a 17-year-old student had said that a man had appeared at the gate around 6.45 p.m. inquiring whether the ‘mudalali’ was in. Thereafter he had proceeded into the house. About 10 minutes later two others also joined the group while the student had retired to his room.
The three men while leaving the house had tapped on the room door of the boarder and told him that the ‘mudalali’ would call him shortly and to look in to what he needs. When the boarder came out of his room about 10 minutes later he saw Mr. Hewagama fallen on the ground in the middle of the house, police said.
The boarder called 119 and when the police arrived on the scene they found Mr. Hewagama with his hands and legs tied up and the mouth gagged, officer Karunaratne said, adding that they also found a crowbar close to the body indicating that the victim had been tortured.
“There were valuables in the house and two vehicles but the intruders had not touched them. Therefore we believe that the objective was to murder the businessman,” he said.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Greater Colombo) Sumith Edirisinha told the Sunday Times that they had gathered other vital evidence and were hopeful of an early breakthrough.
Meanwhile, questions loom over the death of a female night club dancer who succumbed to burn injuries last Tuesday in Siddamulla, Piliyandala.
“We are yet to ascertain whether she set herself on fire after a dispute with a policeman with whom she was involved or whether the policeman set her on fire,” SI Duminda Kumara, an officer involved in the investigation said.
Thirty-six-year-old Gayani Abeykoon, was employed at a leading nightclub in Kollupitiya. She was a mother of three and two of her children lived with relatives while one lived with her. Her husband was estranged from the family and worked overseas.
According to police, earlier on when the victim had had a problem with a guest at the night club and the matter was referred to the Kollupitiya police a policeman had intervened to solve the problem. Thereafter she had developed a relationship with the policeman who was married and was the father of a six-month-old baby. The policeman was transferred to the Grandpass police.
According to investigations, on the day of the incident, the woman was getting ready to go to work at the night club after leaving her child with a neighbour, as she usually did, when she received a call from the policeman who had asked her to meet him at Galle Face Green instead of proceeding to work.
According to police the couple had then gone back to her home and both had consumed liquour.
The Policeman is question had reportedly told police that after they had gone to sleep the woman had got out of bed to answer a telephone call. He claims he rushed out of the room when he heard her screaming and saw her rushing to the well with her clothes on fire.
He told police that he had poured three buckets of water on her and later left on a motorcycle to look for an ambulance. He claimed that he had not been in a proper state of mind and had proceeded to Padukka.
The policeman who is in remand custody had sustained injuries after falling off the bike and burn injuries.
In another incident robbers shot dead a businessman, who was visiting another businessman in the Dankotuwa area, while they were fleeing the residence after robbing it.
“We strongly believe that the robbers feared that they would be identified and had shot the businessman,” a police officer involved in the investigation said.
Three men – one of them armed with a T56 weapon had stormed the residence of a coconut estate owner and had removed jewellery and cash after threatening the householders. The other businessman arrived just as the robbers were making a hasty get away from the scene.
According to police last year 586 cases of homicide were reported while in 2012 there were 626 cases.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Crimes) I.M.Karunaratne said the police were carrying out an awareness campaign to educate the public on the nature of criminal activities so that they could take precautions.
He said the re-activation of Civil Defence committees was a move in this direction.