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Kahawatte: Arrest and alleged assault by police lead to suicide
A man taken in for questioning by the Police, in connection with the double murder of a mother and daughter in the Kahawatta area, committed suicide by drinking poison, because he felt ashamed by the wrongful arrest and alleged subsequent beating, his widow said at the inquest into his death.
U. Seneviratne of Kotakethana, a father of two, had told from his deathbed, that he could no longer face society, after the shame caused to his reputation by his arrest by officials of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), on suspicion of being linked to the murders, it was revealed at the inquest.
The widow, Dayanai Chandralatha (37), a resident of Opatha Road, giving evidence before the Embilipitiya City Coroner R.S. Gunasena, said her late husband was a sensitive man who could not even bear to kill a fish. “The allegation that he could have killed another human being was too much for him to bear,” a grief-stricken Chandralatha told the Coroner.
Seneviratne, who had died 13 days after consuming the poison, worked as a three-wheeler driver, had no known enemies and was in a sound frame of mind.
He had not made any attempts at suicide prior to this, Chandralatha said.On the night of September 13, a white van with some men had come near their house and called out to Seneviratna. Having identified themselves as CID officials, the men had taken him away, saying they needed to question him.
Seneviratna had not retuned that night, and the following morning, when Chandralatha called his mobile phone, a stranger had answered the phone and told her that her husband was with them. “They asked me to come to the Kahawatta temple. I went there along with my husband’s brother and a few others. There I found my husband with some of the men who took him the previous night. They asked me some questions regarding the Kahawatta murders as well, and by evening I returned home with my husband,” she said
Seneviratne had told his wife that he had been assaulted while his face was covered. He was injured and his left foot was numb. She had taken him to Kahawatta hospital and since his return home he had been in deep thought and was distracted.
On September 22, Chandralatha had accompanied their nine-year-old son with Seneviratne in his three-wheeler, for a class. “I stayed with my son till his class finished. Around 9.30 am, I got a call from my brother informing me that my husband was at Kahawatta Hospital and to rush there,” she said.
On arriving at the hospital, she found Seneviratna on a trolley looking sick. “He kept saying that he was ashamed to face society after being arrested and beaten up. He said he had taken poison, as he could not bear to live anymore,” Chandralatha told the Coroner.
U. Tillakaratne, a relative of the deceased, described how he found the victim on the floor of his house on the morning of September 22, and foaming from his mouth. He had rushed him to Kahawatta hospital. Later he was transferred to Embilipitiya hospital, as his condition worsened, and died there on October 5.
“I don’t doubt anyone was involved in his death, and believe he committed suicide by taking poison, as he was depressed over his arrest and assault,” he said.
Embilipitiya Base Hospital Judicial Medical Officer Dr C. Abeysuriya who conducted the post mortem, concluded that death was due to poisoning caused by drinking an insecticide.
The coroner returned a verdict of suicide and directed that the victim’s body be released to the custody of his wife. He also advised the relatives of the victim to conduct the funeral in a manner that does not lead to a breach of the peace in the area. Seneviratne’s funeral was held on October 8.
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