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Love triangle murder suspect remanded till July 4
View(s):A love affair gone wrong resulted in the brutal murder of 21-year-old Tharindi Aloka of Kottawa, allegedly, at the hands of her boyfriend Kasun Erandika, 29.
Kasun, now in remand custody, had been having an affair with Tharindi for three years, when his involvement with another young woman led to a breakdown in their relationship, which eventually resulted in the murder, Police said.
News of the murder was first brought to the attention of the Police via a 119 call received at the Kottawa Police station on June 22.
A police team on arrival at the place had found a young woman lying dead on a bed, with a bloodied knife on the floor near the bed.
According to Kottawa Police OIC IP R.A.S. Karunarathna, the Mirihana Scenes of Crime Officers (SOCO) and Police Kennel Unit were summoned to the location and investigations commenced into the incident.
According to Kalubowila Hospital JMO Dr. Sampath Senathunga’s report, Tharindi had been stabbed to death, with the fatal blow being an injury to her neck.
Police said the murder had been committed in the morning, and her parents informed of the incident at about 2.30 pm by her sister, after she returned from school.
Police teams checking video footage of the CCTV cameras located at the premises, noticed a suspicious young man with the deceased woman, who left the place at about 9.40 in the morning.
Police investigations later found the man intended to marry another woman.
While police investigations were ongoing, the young man had surrendered to the Kottawa police through his lawyer.
Police said the suspect, Kasun Erandika from Hakmana, Matara, was handling Dambadiva pilgrimage tours.
Victim Tharindi Aloka was studying beauty culture with ambitions to become a model. The two had met about three years ago and started an affair.
However, things turned sour after the suspect had rekindled a love affair with his school sweetheart from Matara, following which the suspect had distanced himself from the victim.
When Tharindi got to know of the second affair, she had phoned the Matara girl and asked her to stop the affair with the suspect.
This phone call had angered the suspect and had led to altercations between the two, which eventually resulted in the murder on June 21, Police said.
When Kasun visited Tharindi’s house on that fateful day, he had wanted to check her mobile phone. When she refused, he had threatened her with a knife to let him check the phone.
Then Kasun, with knife in hand, had jumped on to the bed and attacked Tharindi to frighten her into giving him the phone, when she got wounded by the knife. He had then left Tharindi’s house.
The Police said that, according to Kasun, Tharindi was wasting money given by her family compelling her parents to stop giving her money. Kasun too, had been giving money to Tharindi.
Police suspect money issues too may have led to friction between the two, after the new girl came into the scene.
IP Karunarathna said the suspect had been produced before the Homagama magistrate on June 25, and remanded till July 4.