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Nalika's
alleged strangler was set free on Feb 4 As the first driver to whom the man spoke to had another hire; 'Raththaran' was asked to takeover. Before accepting the hire the man was asked to produce his identity card because of the number of robberies that had taken place in the area recently. The man had no identity card but showed a photograph certified by a gramasevaka and claimed that his father was ill and warded at the Anuradhapura hospital in need of an urgent blood transfusion. He said a friend at Padawiya had agreed to donate 'O' negative blood but had let him down and therefore he had to rush to Rambewa in search of another donor very quickly and agreed to pay Rs. 2,200 for the hire. The driver accompanied by a friend and the man drove towards Anuradhapura and on reaching the destination the agreed hire fee was duly paid. After 'Raththran' returned to Padawiya he came to hear about the murder that had taken place in the afternoon but at the time he had no reason to believe they had unknowingly transported the alleged killer of 27-year-old Nalika Waduge. Nalika Wanigatunga was married to Dr. Gayanth Waduge a medical officer attached to the Padawiya hospital. She had obtained her medical degree in Russia and at the time was preparing for the local exam - a prerequisite that qualifies an overseas student to be registered as a doctor in Sri Lanka. According to some shocking police disclosures, a drug addict had strangled Nalika and the killer had been released on a Presidential amnesty. The suspect was said to be suffering from a blood disorder and a drug addict. As a means of raising money to finance his addiction the suspect had taken to house breaking and robberies having recently broken into the homes of doctors and stolen money and jewellery. Police said that on the morning of the ill-fated day the suspect seeing Dr. Waduge leaving home had entered the house unaware Mrs. Waduge was at home. When Nalika seeing the suspect moving around the house looking for suitable items to steal had screamed out. The suspect had pulled her out of her hiding place and pressed her down covering her mouth and nose and finding her lifeless strangled Nalika using the cord of a smoothing iron lying nearby. He then fled the scene after robbing Rs. 300. Soon after the killing of Nalika, her husband Dr. Waduge in his complaint to the police had mentioned the name of another doctor working at the Padawiya hospital who was envious of Dr. Waduge's thriving private practice and also of threats to his life. DIG Mahinda Baddewala assisted by DIG Jayantha Gamage with a special team of experienced CID officers headed by officer Neville Guruge successfully carried out the investigations that led to the arrest of the suspect just 20 days after the killing of the young woman. In the course of the high-powered investigations into the killing, police Inspector Palitha questioned Raththaran and his friend about the van hire to Anuradhapura and with the help of decoys the suspect was traced and arrested while working at his sister's shop dealing in the selling of plastic items. The suspect who had earlier been sentenced to serve a 16-year prison term was released on Independence Day this year. During police interrogation the suspect had revealed details of the murder scene and admitted his guilt and said he was unaware Mrs. Waduge was in the house before he broke in. He said he was a drug addict and was found guilty in another murder incident in 1988 and receiving treatment for a blood disorder. The suspect claimed he decided to rob the residence of doctors only after two doctors at the Anuradhapura hospital had been very nasty to him. |
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