Archives

by Geoff Wijesinghe

One sunny morning I was sitting in the front room of my aunt's annex at Wellawatta, wondering what to do that day, when I heard the familiar toot of the horn of my very good friend, former MP and Senator Reggie Perera's Fiat 500 car.

Reggie, as most of us know, was huge, a sort of pocket edition of a Sumo wrestler, while his car was a tiny successor to the Bug Fiat. It had its engine in the rear, and was a four-seater, though small in size, obviously manufactured for the European market. It even had a heater, located between the two front seats.

I was then in my early twenties and Reggie was about double my age. But, this intellectual and bohemian to boot, and I got on like a house on fire.

Others in this fun-loving group, who behaved, as would existentionalists and who did not care for the morrow, included Ossie (O.G.) de Alwis, Chukka de Silva and Ranjith Perera.

As I was running up to the car, Reggie called out, "put on your longs and come for a ride."

Our first stop as usual was at the YMCA where, over a chat and a cup of tea with some of the regulars, my friend suddenly came forth with a brilliant idea. Quoth he, "Let's go to Akuressa and pay Eddie Goonetileke a surprise visit."

In fact, that was the first time I had heard of such a person. When I inquired who he was, Reggie replied, "what's the hell, men. Didn't you know he is the famous SP Lionel Goonetileke's brother? And a first class chap?"

No, sooner we set out in the little Fiat to Akuressa. On the way, he dropped in at home at Mount Lavinia and informed his ever-loving wife, whom we fondly called "Mono" of our plans, picked up O.G. and proceeded at a leisurely pace.

Of course, Reggie was loath to pass a toddy tavern without a coconut shell full of the delicious white brew. So, our first stop was, I think, at Beruwela or Aluthgama and we proceeded with O.G. who had a deep baritons, saying such favourites as "Old Man River", while Reggie and I chimed in once in a while.

Seated behind, I mischievously switched on the heater. After some time, Reggie kept complaining the heat was becoming unbearable, and I could seen sweat pouring down his neck. Approaching Galle, I thought enough heat had been generated and switched the heater off. The temperature suddenly dropped and the cat was out of the bag, with Reggie bawling out, "You're a bloody rascal." It was around 4 o'clock when we arrived at Eddie Goonetileke's estate at Akuressa. Eddie and Reggie embraced each other like long-lost brothers.

A bottle of the best arrack was soon served. While our host, despite the impromptu arrival, insisted on having lunch, which was prepared specially for us. It finally ended up by our staying the night at the estate and leaving for Colombo the next morning after a very enjoyable stay.

Eddie's elder brother Lionel was the country's number one investigator and is well-known for his successful solving of the sensational Colombo Turf Club Robbery.

As a 13-year-old I was listening to the night news bulletin of Radio Ceylon, and I still can remember the cold chill that went through me when I heard the Turf Club Robbery being announced. It was Monday, January 31, 1949. The Havelock Race Course was comparatively a stone's throw away from my house. And I often watch the races from the Buller's Road fence.

It subsequently transpired that the cash collections amounting to over Rs. 300,000, a large sum at that time, packed in a large trunk, was robbed while being transported to the Chartered Bank in Colombo Fort on that day.

The gang responsible for the robbery had earlier murdered the regular driver of the Armstrong hiring car, John Silva, by tying him to a tree in the thick jungles on the Puttalam-Anuradhapura road with a gas mask strapped to his face and the tube attached to it squeezed to prevent the air from entering it. His hands were tied behind the tree. In fact, his entire body was strapped to it with a strong coir rope. Within 10 minutes John Silva was dead.

The investigation was headed by Lionel Goonetileke who was dreaded by the underworld. At the trial, four of the accused were found guilty and sentenced to death. Lionel's sons Lionel (Junior) and Nimal are both Deputy Inspector Generals of Police today, while the youngest: Ranjith is a practising lawyer in London.

Both Lionel and Nimal are excellent police officers who carry out their duties without fear or favour. As a result of this, Lionel, at one stage, who was Director of the CDB, was shunted to Police Headquarters as SP-Welfare, without any rhyme or reason, possibly only for the reason that he was not willing to bend the rules to suit political agendas.

He has now been given his due place and is the DIG-CID and his talents have been acknowledged.

His brother Nimal is the DIG in charge of the Special Task Force.

The two of them are well-known for their impartiality, integrity and sincerity.

www.crescat.com

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager