Kidnap drama ends with no ransom paid and little girl freed

By Isuri Kaviratne

“I was not afraid, they gave me toys to play with and there was a malli and an aunty to keep me company,” says five-year-old Danusha, back at home, 56 hours after being abducted, close to her home in Manson Place, Negombo, on Monday, (March 5).

The spot where Danusha was abducted, about two doors next to her home. Pix by Athula Devapriya

Recalling her saga, Danusha said the kidnappers had dropped her off at the junction close to her home and asked her whether she could go home on her own. “I said my home was closeby and I could go on my own.”

Mohandas Danusha was born in Kilinochchi, where her parents and siblings live. However she has been staying with her grandmother since she was an year old, in Negombo. Although her parents were informed about the kidnapping they couldn’t come to Negombo due to security reasons and lack of money to make the journey.

Danusha: “I was not afraid”

The kidnappers had allowed Danusha to talk to her family over the phone on Wednesday morning. “Danusha is not a child who gets scared easily,” said her grandmother Shanmuganathan Shivamanoravi. “She didn’t even cry when she spoke to me over the phone. She asked me not to cry because she’ll be coming home that evening. The people who had kidnapped her had taken good care of her as well. They spoke to me and complained that she wasn’t eating enough. However when I asked why they had kidnapped Danusha they didn’t answer.”

Shanmuganathan Shivamanoravi

Though Danusha had assured her grandmother that she would be returning that day they didn’t expect her since it was getting late. “However at about 10.30 Dhanusha’s grandmother heard her calling out to her from the gate,” said Danusha’s uncle Subramanium Thavaragasingham.

He said the police had searched the whole area once they had informed them of the kidnapping while some policemen in civvies were stationed in the area in case of an emergency.

He said the kidnappers had initially asked for Rs. Three to four million but had then brought it down to Rs. Two million. He said whenever the phone rang Shivamanoravi answered because initially whenever the kidnappers heard a male voice they would cut the line.

“Shivamanoravi agreed to pay Rs.500, 000 but the kidnappers said that wasn’t enough. However, they finally released Danusha without taking any money,” Thavaragasingham said.

Meanwhile, Negombo OIC W. Silva said they will continue with their investigations to find out the culprits behind the kidnapping.