Police unravels the Seeduwa mystery murder

by Hemantha Randunu

On February 9th just before noon struck, the Kotawehera police were informed of a murder. The informant claimed to have found the naked corpse of an unknown man, in a roadside bush.

The police arrived at the scene to find the body of a beheaded youth. There were a number of other deep cuts across the body, which suggested the use of sharp-edged weapons.

Efforts made to establish the identity revealed that the victim was a married man named Lasantha from Matara. His parents and wife were brought to Kotawehera to identify the body.

In her statement to the police, Lasantha’s mother said that he was a tutor by profession. On February 8, he had left home for Seeduwa in a hired van to help out a paralysed man.

The driver of the van told the police that Lasantha got in around 8.30 in the morning. Near the Seeduwa bridge a young woman entered the van. While she was talking with Lasantha, a Toyota Prius had stopped near them. Four or five people who got out of the car, beat-up Lasantha and kidnapped him and the girl.

This left a lot of demanding questions for the police. Who was the young lady? What happened to her after Lasantha was killed? Is she still in captivity or was she also involved in the murder?

The investigations were then handed over to the Seeduwa police as the victim was kidnapped in their jurisdiction. Inquiries into Lasantha’s murder were carried out under the direction of DIG Damayantha Wijaya Sri, Negombo SSP Saman Sigera, ASP Nalaka Senanayake and Seeduwa OIC Kosala Liyanarachchi. Western Province Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon, who is well versed in intricate crimes also instructed the Seeduwa Police regarding the investigation.

From the CCTV footage around the area in which the kidnapping took place, the police were able to identify the registration number of the car that was used for the crime. However, this proved to be a dead-end, when it was found that the perpetrators had used a stolen numberplate.

SSP Sigera instructed the investigation team to expand the search with CCTV footages, with hopes of finding the real registration number of the car. This ultimately bore fruits, when the Toyota Prius was spotted at the Galanigama exit on the Southern Expressway, with its real numberplate. This was the turning point of the investigation.

In no time the owner of the car was located and brought-in for questioning by the police. The suspect was a well-known businessman in Matara, by the name of Chanaka. He repeatedly claimed to know nothing about the incident and went to the extent of threatening the officers with his political connections.

But his true profile soon came to the light. Chanaka was a drug addict and even had murder accusations him. He was also closely affiliated with a powerful political family in the South.

Chanaka ran a very profitable textile shop in a building in the Matara town. The four-storey building was owned by a wealthy woman named Beatrice. She had rented the ground floor to Chanaka for a while.

But over time, Beatrice wanted her building back as there were problems with payments. Chanaka was not going to give up his goldmine of a shop easily. He continually attempted to intimidate Beatrice with brute force and thuggery. When the situation escalated, he kidnapped Beatrice’s daughter Wathsala and held her captive for days. This was three years ago.

Around this time, Lasantha came to be involved with this family. He was helping them with filing the case and other matters. Lasantha was a knowledgeable man, with a firm standing in influential circles. He also headed an NGO to help the needy.

Beatrice was fond of Lasantha, and wanted him to marry her daughter. Lasantha liked the idea as well, so the wedding took place without much ado. Since then, Lasantha has been directly involved in the fight for the building.

The issue had been referred to the courts by then, as Chanaka was relentless. He was determined to get the building and was willing to go great lengths for it.

While the lawsuit was still ongoing, Beatrice was abducted on January 15, 2018 and killed by an armed gang. The police were unable to identify the group, so the killers were never found.

But prior to her death, Beatrice had transferred ownership of the building to Lasantha. After Beatrice’s death, Lasantha continued the case against Chanaka. This shattered all hopes that Chanaka had of acquiring the building.

Lasantha eventually won the case in court and proved rightful ownership. The years-long battle for ownership of the building was legally concluded. But matters were far from settled in Chanaka’s mind.

With some close friends, Chanaka began on a plan to remove the biggest obstacle between him and the building. A gruesome plot was then put together.

Chanaka knew that Lasantha had a soft spot for women. So it was decided to lure him to his death this way. A young woman named Sewwandi was called up. She was promised a payment of Rs. 5 lakhs to bring out Lasantha to a secluded place.

She was instructed to strike up a friendship with Lasantha through Facebook passing off as a woman living in Seeduwa. The pair were close friends in a few months. Then to appear vulnerable, Sewwandi began telling him a sob story of how she didn’t have a job and her father was paralysed. Seeing the perfect opportunity, Lasantha offered to visit them and help. He was eagerly looking forward to spending some time with this charming young woman.

When Chanaka was updated on this by Sewwandi, he quickly made the final arrangements. So, when Lasantha hired a van and left for Seeduwa on February 8, Chanaka with a few other men also hit the Southern Expressway in a Toyota Prius. They entered the Galle Road from the Galanigama, went to Panadura and stole numberplate from a jeep that was parked by the road. Having fixed it on their car, they came to Seeduwa.

By this time Sewwandi had met Lasantha and was in the van with him near the Seeduwa bridge. She had already called Chanaka on her mobile, and given him all the details.

The thugs parked their car next to the van and got down. After attacking Lasantha, they put him in the car with Sewwandi and took off. All attempts by Lasantha to break free were in vain. It was only then that Lasantha came to know that Sewwandi was also a part of the setup.

Chanaka gave Sewwandi Rs. 20,000 and promised to make the rest of the payment later. Then she was dropped off on their way.

The car was driven by Chanaka. Chanaka’s men strangled Lasantha dead with a rope while the car was moving. The criminals then removed all of Lasantha’s clothes and threw them along road.

They dumped Lasantha’s body in a scrub in Kotawehera and left for Matara. They did not expect the crime would be traced right back to them.

But Chanaka and his minions couldn’t outsmart the police. The diligent investigation exposed a murder that could easily have ended as an unsolved crime.

Senior DIG Western Province Deshabandu Tennakoon, DIG Damayantha Wijaya Sri, SSP Saman Sigera, ASP Nalaka Senanayake and Seeduwa OIC Kosala Liyanarachchi directed the investigation that was carried out by the OIC of the Crimes Division Subhash Priyadarshana, IP Ranatunga, Sergeant Kumaradasa (33256), Constable Manjula (60303), Tilakaratne (79888), Herath (72566), Vitharana (25723) and other officers.

(Translated from Irida Divayina)