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Law of the jungle comes to town
By Chris Kamalendran
As dozens of people watched in horror a young businessman was stabbed and brutally killed in the presence of his wife and two children, just 50 meters away from a police station.

The incident occurred, following a minor argument with a group of people living in close proximity to the police station, at about 8.30 p.m last Sunday in Kandana, when the businessman, his wife and two small children, were returning home after visiting one of their relatives in Tudella .

His wife, Udeni Manel a teacher attached to the Catholic Maha Vidyalaya, in Welisara said they were travelling in a lorry driven by her husband (38) and the incident happened as they were passing through Kandana.

'At a spot almost opposite the police station at the pedestrian crossing my husband slowed down the vehicle as two other vehicles in front had slowed down to allow some people to cross the road. As my husband was slowing down a group of young persons tried to creep through the space between the lorry we were in and the vehicle in front and in the process knocked on the front portion of the lorry', Manel said.

'The only thing my husband did was to shout at them saying 'merandathe hadanne' (are you trying to die) and at that an argument took place as those in the group started to abuse my husband. Thereafter they dragged my husband out of the vehicle and began assaulting him', she said.

Udeni Manel said she pleaded with the group of people not to assault her husband and even our seven-year-old son cried out appealing to them not to harm his father.
'When they continued to assault my husband I ran to the police station which was close by and saw my husband being dragged to the side of the road. When I came back I found that my husband had been stabbed and had been taken to hospital', she said.

Some bystanders had rushed her husband, to hospital, bleeding from his wounds and on the way had handed over his wallet and cellular phone to them and asked them not to alarm the family members. But Krishnakumara Wanigasundara had passed away while in hospital.

This tragic and horrifying incident has left seven-year-old son Udaya Isuru and four-year-old daughter Marisha Gayashri without a father and Udeni Manela a widow, from an incident that had been triggered from what appeared to be only a simple argument.
Some 19 persons including three women, all living in a garden nearby, who were allegedly involved in the incident had been arrested.

Soon after Manel rushed to the police and complained about the incident the police being aware as to who was responsible for the incident immediately ordered them to be arrested. But as to how an unruly gang of people took the law into their own hands, is a question that the police have not yet been able to answer.

The police claim they had to attend to other work and they had nobody to spare and by the time they arrived at the scene of this incident the man had already been stabbed.

The group allegedly involved in the incident are reported to be living in the garden adjoining the police station and were known to be notorious trouble makers. The businessman's widow is reluctant to proceed with the complaint as she fears she may be threatened by this group and says that although she is looking for justice in this matter wonders, when thinking of the possible repercussions and whether, she possesses the strength to go ahead.

Odds and Ends

Three cheers for elephants
A wild elephant seems to have done to the controversial LTTE camp in the Manirasakulam area in the Trincomalee district what weeks of dialogue and negotiation by the government and the SLMM failed to do.

The rampaging elephant had recently entered the LTTE camp's kitchen in search of food and had attacked the cook, breaking both his legs. The unfortunate man was taken to a native doctor in Kinniya, for treatment and is said to be recovering. Maybe the time has come to call in more wild elephants to chase away the Tigers.

Can't do without foreigners
At the time SWRD Bandaranaike introduced the Sinhala only policy in 1956 a well known politician was heard saying "one language, two nations", "two languages, one nations".

Today the People's Alliance is confronted with a language problem of a different sort. This time round the question is, in what language should they address reporters at their weekly news conference. Two weeks ago some foreign correspondents asked PA Spokesman Sarath Amunugama for a brief statement in English when he was heard rattling on in Sinhala.

Dr. Amunugama told them that it was left to him to choose the language to address them in. Since then, the foreign scribes have boycotted PA news conferences. In order to pacify them, the PA has now decided to hold two separate news briefings - one for the local reporters and another for the ones from foreign lands.

However the local news reporters too are permitted to attend the briefing for the foreign correspondents if they wish to do so. Divide and rule is not their policy, it seems.

When ignorance is bliss
A Bodhi pooja was held recently to bestow blessings on Gampaha district MP Anura Bandaranaike on the completion of his 27th year in politics.

All PA MPs were invited but only five turned up for the ceremony held at the Attanagalla Raja Maha Viharaya. It was an elderly female devotee who brought a smile to everyone's lips when she bestowed her blessings on Mr. Bandaranaike saying, "Our hamu though had been in politics for 27 years has never been a minister so this year we pray that he will achieve such a position".

The woman obviously was unaware that Mr. Bandaranaike had served as Higher Education Minister for a brief period in President D.B. Wijetunga's government. Can one really blame her for forgetting that fact?

Return home with wet pants
The annual trip to Sigiriya, for journalists organised by Sri Lankan Airlines to Sigiriya turned out to be a costly affair for some unfortunate participants. As the visitors enjoyed themselves, some over enthusiastic members in the crowed decided to throw their colleagues into the swimming pool, a practice among some picnickers in recent times. Many of their expensive cellular phones too took the dive. So instead of flying high after their outing, many were feeling down in the dumps.

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