Murder, rape and robbery

by Ananda Jayasena

(June 10, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) In the latter part of 1968, one Sunday morning when I was at the Bulathsinhala Police Station, the Grama Sevaka of Govinna sent a serial report through a messenger, informing of a robbery of cash and jewellery all to the value of Rs. 12,000.

The village where this incident had taken place was Opella, about eight miles away from my Police Station. On the western side of Opella is Horana, and on the northern side is Ingiriya. Opella is equividistant from Horana and Ingiriya, and about six miles away.

On receipt of this information I set out on enquiry with P.S. 1064 Ariff and P.C. 5647 Pemasiri in the station jeep. Opella is a very thinly populated area, in the midst of rubber plantations and paddy fields. Many dwellings were huts, but there were three large houses in the entire Opella village and in one of these houses lived two elderly women and their man servant one Carolis.

Both sisters were well over 65 years of age, the elder being Caroline, and the younger Acida. Both of them had been married and were now widows without children. Carolis had been brought up in this house since he was eight years old, and did not know any of his relations. He heroine-worshiped both madams. A woman named Jane Nona, a villager, cooked the meals and returned to her house for the night.

The Grama Sevaka had already dispatched the two women to Horana Hospital, and was waiting for us at the scene of crime with Carolis.

The two rooms where the two ladies had slept had been ransacked. Both doors had been forced open. Contents in the almirahs were scattered on the ground. The beds were disarranged, showing marks of a struggle.

Carolis’s statement was recorded. According to him around 2 am when there was heavy rain, he heard the cries of distress of both ladies and when he rushed there, two masked men stopped him, assaulted him and tied him to a nearby coconut tree. He could not identify either of the robbers.

I immediately went to the Base Hospital Horana. Acida had been transferred to the General Hospital Colombo, as her condition had been bad. I recorded Caroline’s detailed statement. She stated that she went to Horana, sold her rubber and collected Rs. 4215 and brought it home and hid it inside the mattress. At around 2 am the two men who wore masked broke opened the door and assaulted her till she showed them where the money was hidden. She also saw a masked man entering Acida’s closed room. She also complained that her jewellery which was in the almirah was stolen. She assessed the value of stolen jewellery at Rs. 7500. She was unable to identify any of the intruders. The money obtained from the sale of rubber had also been removed by the culprits.

Police dogs that were brought from the Kalutara Police Training School could not get the scent as it had rained the previous night heavily. The fingerprint experts who dusted the scene had traced three decipherable prints on the inner side of the almirah belonging to Carloine where the proceeds of the sale of rubber were kept.

Three days later a message was received from the General Hospital Colombo informing that Acida had died without regaining consciousness and the inquest had been fixed for the following day preceded by the post mortem examination.

On the following day the post mortem examination was held by Dr. W. D. L. Fernando, JMO Colombo who stated that she had been raped, and the cause of death had been due to severe damages to the cranium, as a result of hard blows to the skull. The coroner gave a verdict of murder.

Six days after the robbery the registrar of fingerprints informed us that the three prints found in the almirah of Caroline’s room had been identified as two prints belonging to I.R.C. 187/59 Ruban, and the other print as of I.R.C. 240/57 Martin. Both lived in the Ingiriya Police Area, and although their houses were visited often, they had fled from their houses for good.

I received some reliable information to the effect that a person called Nonis from the adjoining village had joined in the robbery. Late into the night one day he was arrested by me when he was coming home after a "Tovil" Ceremony. No outsider knew about this arrest. He was blindfolded and put into the jeep. Instead of coming straight to the Police Station, we drove around in the surrounding areas for about an hour. Nonis who was blindfolded new that the jeep is going somewhere else and not to the Police Station as if so it would have stopped much earlier. He became gittery and broke down. According to him on the night of the robbery, Ruban, Martin, Aloysius, Tikiri and he participated in the robbery. Ruban and Martin entered the Caroline’s room, he and Aloysius guarded Carolis. He also stated that while going back after the robbery there was a jeep parked outside a garage in the Ingiriya Police area and Aloysius started the jeep and came to the town, left the jeep there, and then dispersed. The jewellery and money had also been kept with Ruban and they were to be divided among them after ten days.

The OIC Ingiriya Police Station at this time was Sub-Inspector Percy Wijenayake, who retired prematurely as a Superintendent of Police and migrated to Australia. He was very helpful in this inquiry. He on his own had got down the registrar of fingerprints to Ingiriya and got the entire jeep dusted for prints, and in the jeep the RFP had traced several prints. He had also traced the palm print of I.R.C. 71/61 Aloysius in the steering wheel. I.R.C. Aloysius was supervised by Horana Police and according to them he had left with his wife for good, one week after the murder.

I produced Nonis in the Magistrate Courts Matugama and got him remanded for fourteen days. After two weeks, I filed a plaint in the Courts under Section 296, 364, 443/369 of C.P.C. read with section 32 CPC. On a subsequent day when the case was called suspects Ruban, Martin, Aloysius surrendered to courts through their respective lawyers. Tikiri had been killed in a brawl and his death certificate was produced in courts.

I conducted this case in the Magistrate Courts Matugama and after a series of non-summary proceedings the case was committed to the Supreme Court.

About a year later the case was taken up in the Supreme Courts Kalutara and the four accused were indicted for murder, rape and robbery.

The crown counsel who prosecuted in this case had done his homework. Before the case was taken up for trial, he opened his address and said that this case depended entirely on fingerprints and stated that no two persons in the world had identical fingerprints.

The next witness to give evidence was Dr. W. D. L. Fernando, JMO Colombo. He in his evidence stated that he held the post-mortem examination on the body of the deceased Acida and he found that she had been raped once or more times and the cause of death was due to a severe blow to the skull with a hard object causing extensive damages to the cranium or the brain-box.

SI Hemapala of the RFP stated that he visited the scene of offence at Opalla on 02-09-68 and traced three fingerprints in the inner side door of the almirah of Caroline's room, and later identified them as those of Ruban and Martin. Sergeant Atukorala of RFP was the next witness. He stated that he visited the Ingiriya Police on 06-09-68 in sequel to a request made by the OIC, and he dusted a Land Rover Jeep. In the midst of several prints, he traced a finger and palm print of Aloysius on the steering wheel.

PC 1421 Perera of Ingriya Police stated that he supervised both Ruban and Martin and they had left their homes permanently since 10-09-68. PC 1530 Albert stated that he supervised Aloysius who had left his home permanently with his wife since 16-09-68.

The Crown Council finally led the evidence of Caroline and she was cross-examined by the defence. After police evidence the case was closed for the precaution.

The defence called called Nonis for his evidence. He got into the witness-box and stated that on the day in question he was sick and he was an inmate at Ingiriya hospital for four days at a stretch. He failed to produce a medical certificate to this effect. When the crown counsel asked for the medical certificate, he stayed mum in the box.

The judge after summing up ordered the jury to retire, and when they came back the Jury brought a unanimous verdict of guilt on all four accused.

The learned Judge sentenced all four accused to be hanged at Welikada Prisons till they were dead.
The writer is a Senior Supdt. of Police (Rtd.)
- Sri Lanka Guardian