Beasts brutalise beautician at Kollupitiya

By Nadia Fazlulhaq

Police believe the gruesome killing of a beauty salon co-owner who was killed on Thursday morning at Alfred Place was an act of revenge. Kollupitiya police OIC Mahesh Perera said this was a well-planned killing and the motive may be revenge rather than robbery even though the suspects have taken Rs.5500, jewellery and the mobile phone of the victim identified as Avanthi Rajendran (28).

Police said Avanthi was killed by two unidentified men who visited her salon on Thursday morning, after tying and gagging the three employees and locking them in a room. The employees had told Police that a man had visited the salon inquiring about the victim and had continued to follow Avanthi.

On Thursday when the salon was opened around 9 a.m., the two suspects had gained entrance, seized the three employees and locked them in a washroom. They had been tied with ropes and their mouths covered with tape. The killers then waited for the victim to arrive. They had slit the neck of the victim and also cut off her left ear.

The victim had been living alone in an apartment in Melbourne Avenue, Bambalapitiya. According to police reports the victim’s mother lives in Canada while her father lives out of Colombo and a brother is in Dehiwala. The victim had been an expatriate worker in Canada and returned to Sri Lanka recently. Police suspect a personal matter may have led to the killing.

Nayana Karunaratne, the owner of a well-known chain of hair salons said:
“Avanthi had been as an excellent staff member of Salon Nayana for more than 10 years. Fashion conscious and sociable she joined our salon at the age of sixteen and left the country two years ago. Recently she came back to Sri Lanka and joined as a partner of an upcoming hair salon.” The funeral of Avanthi will take place tomorrow. Kollupitiya police are conducting investigations.