Death of domestic aide: Police find note scrawled on wall in victim’s room

Police have found a note scrawled on the wall of the room where the 16-year-old girl who succumbed to burn injuries was staying in while serving as a domestic aide at the residence of former minister Rishad Bathiudeen. 

Investigators who revisited the house and inspected the room where the victim had stayed in had found a note scrawled in English letters that gives a Tamil meaning, Police Spokesman Senior Deputy Inspector General (SDIG) of Police Ajith Rohana stated. 

He added that the Tamil meaning of the note is "The cause of my death."

Police have informed the Government Analyst of the discovery and handwriting experts from the department had visited the scene and taken photographs of the note. Investigators have also recovered school books that had been used by the deceased while she was schooling. The handwriting in these books will be checked with the note scrawled on the wall to see whether they match with those of the deceased. 

Further investigations are being conducted by two investigation teams, SDIG Rohana added. 

Meanwhile, police are awaiting the report of the second-postmortem conducted on the remains of the victim by an expert panel consisting of three Judicial Medical Officers and forensic experts appointed by the court on recommendation of the Attorney General. The panel was nominated by the Director General of Health Services. 

A separate investigation is being conducted based on statements given by previous domestic aides who had served at the Bathiudeen residence prior to the deceased victim, police added.