News
Witch doctor proves bad medicine for barber, children escape by a hair’s breadth
The two children who were plucked from a watery grave, after their father threw them into the Nilwala Ganga in Matara on Thursday, are being held under police guard in a special enclosure at Matara Hospital, owing to the rush of people eager to have a glimpse of the toddlers, police and hospital officials said yesterday.
They said the police guard was in compliance with a request from the hospital authorities who said that the presence of a large number people in the ward was a hindrance to the medical staff and a nuisance to the patients as well.
Happy to be alive. Pic by Krishan Jayaruk
Hundreds of people, some with gifts and clothing, have been lining up since Thursday to see the two children presently recovering from their nightmarish ordeal, and now in good health.
The fate of the two children aged four and two years respectively, is to be decided by court, once they are discharged from the hospital, said Matara Head Quarters Inspector (HQI) Hemal Prashantha.
Meanwhile, investigations reveal that the children’s 35-year-old father- Kande Chandana Samantha de Silva’s suspicion that his wife was having an affair with a local witch doctor, had apparently led to his action.
The father also apparently committed suicide by jumping into the same crocodile infested river, and his body found the following day by a police boat patrol.
According to HQI Prashantha, the father, a barber by profession, had consulted the witch doctor shortly after the just concluded Sinhala New Year, believing he had hit a bad patch, as his earnings had dropped and there was growing disharmony within the family.
He said the witch doctor had subsequently turned up at the barber’s home, and after inspecting the premises, informed the family that an evil spirit had been cast on their house, which had to be removed, requiring more visits by him.
However, as the days that followed and the witch doctor increased the frequency of his visits, the barber became convinced that this man had started an affair with his wife, leading to quarrels between the two, said HQI Prashantha.
And so, on Thursday morning, without warning, the barber had dressed his two children and headed for Matara Town, informing his wife that they would be back at lunch time.
At the same time, he had instructed his 12-year-old son to stay at home with his mother until he returned, according to CI Prashantha.
The wife later told police that her husband’s behaviour was normal on that Thursday morning, as such visits to town were routine, and so she had left it at that.
However, on reaching town around 11.30 am, the man had suddenly grabbed the two children and flung them over the bridge into the swirling waters of the Nilwala Ganga, and fled the scene while a horrified passerby looked on. The two children were luckily saved from drowning by alert soldiers stationed at a nearby detachment in the area, and a manhunt had been launched for their missing father.
The man had apparently committed suicide, perhaps in the belief that his children were also dead, according to police.
The four rescuers have since been promoted, a spokesman at Army Headquarters said.