Borella bomb detector defused

The police constable who received much publicity soon after he detected the claymore bomb placed in the luggage carrier on the back of a bicycle parked by the side of the pavement in Borella, is disappointed at the response of the Government for his timely detection, according to his wife.

A.A. Ranasinghe (51) of the Kollupitiya police had been in the news soon after he detected the bomb in September last year. Yet, today, he and his wife are unhappy over the response from the Government for detecting the bomb.

Mr. Ranasinghe’s wife J.V Desica said though both the President and the IGP promised a one million rupee reward to her husband along with a double promotion, he had received only Rs. 500,000 from the Government so far.

“Everyone is asking about the promotion but still he has not received it, so he is feeling depressed at the moment. He asked for a transfer as well but he has not got it either,” she said. Desica said her husband needed the transfer soon as his health was not in good condition and he had been admitted to the Karapitiya Hospital for treatment.

“He is depressed at what happened. He was quite happy at first when he detected the bomb as he always wanted to serve the country”, she said tearfully. Explaining the present status of her family, Desica said she was facing many problems when running the house, especially after her husband was admitted to hospital.

“He neglects taking medicine when he is alone and now I have to talk to everybody I know to prevent him from going on no-pay leave. It would have been very convenient had he got the transfer,” she said. “We live near the Gin Ganga in Galle. When the river overflows, our house is flooded,” she said.

With five sons still in school, Desica said she led a difficult life with her husband stationed in Kollupitiya. Desica said that though many people and institutions promised to help her husband and family last year after learning of their situation, they became empty promises in the end.

Despite complaints by the family of Mr. Ranasinghe, DIG N.K. Illangakoon said there was no delay in giving the promotion.“The promotion has to be approved by the Police Commission and it normally takes some time to get approved,” he said. He said there had been no promise to give a reward of one million rupees.

“We made no such promise and the cash reward which was due was given a long time ago”, he said.