Removal of a little girl’s earrings

Ananda Jayasena Snr Suptd of Police (Rtd)

In the year 1958 Kollupitiya Police station was housed at an ancient, dilapidated Dutch building in the same place, where it is now. The entire extent of this police area was about three square miles, and there are four leading English schools, one at Boyd Place, the second at Kollupitiya, Galle Road Turret Road junction, third at Sir Ernest de Silva Mawatha and the 4th at Bambalapitiya junction at Galle Road opposite Edward Lane.

On a Tuesday afternoon around 12.15 pm Nov. 15, 1958 a small girl in a school uniform had been found crying in Glenabar Place, by an elderly lady who lives down that lane, she had noticed that blood was dripping from the left ear-lobe and she was crying.

The old lady had identified the girl from her neck-tie that she was wearing as from the adjoining school. She took the sobbing girl to the Principal of the school and handed over to her.

She looked a Chinese, more than a Malay.

The Principal telephoned Kollupitiya Police and as IP Crimes was attending Court I visited the scene of theft.

The child was crying incessantly now, and both her earrings had been removed, and there was dried blood on her left ear lobe. She was too small to say as to what happened, may be Police Officer in uniform and the presence of the Principal made matters worse and the child appeared be traumatised.

I recorded the statement of the lady who traced this child, and her Ayah. she had got late to come to school to collect the child as there had been a tyre puncture in the car.

I examined the ear-lobes of the child, the left ear tobe had been torn vertically and both earrings were missing. The mother of the girl, being informed by the Principal had come to the school.

She valued the stolen pair of earrings at Rs 15.50 cts.

It appeared that the child had been accosted by some one and on seeing a third person coming, the culprit would have pulled the left earring and vanished with it.

The lady who found the child told us that the gypsy women were in the habit of roaming around the area, and she had seen two gypsy women with two small children even today morning, passing her house.

A Police patrol was sent round the area but no gypsy woman was traced.

During the following three days, we combed the entire Kollupitiya area but could not come across any one.

Exactly, after a week, another child of the same school and of the same age as of the previous child, was seen crying in the street, around 12.30 pm. The same lady had seen this and had questioned the child and had come know that some one had removed the pair of earrings from the child. This child also had been handed over to the Principal by the lady.

A telephone call was received from the Principal to OIC Crimes Kollupitiya. He was spoken to by the caller and he set out to go to the school and he called me too.

Both of us went to her office. She was there. She looked tired with range, and trembling. She all of a sudden asked IP Liyanage as to whether Kollupitiya Police still exists, if so whether it served any purpose to the people of Kollupitiya or any where else.

This girl, like the earlier one, was too small to make a complaint or to call the Police any details.

The Principal, having run down the Kollupitiya Police said that she will get the entire set of Police officers attached to this station transferred out. She was an impossible character to get along. I thought she was like Lady Astor who always taught with the British Premier Winston Churchill in mid nineteen forties at the Parliament of England. Half an hour hardly passed, having both of us come to our Police station.

SP Crimes B W Perera and P Mahendran ASP Crimes dropped at Kollupitiya Police Station. Both of them had unhappy faces and summoned a instruction and a discussion class to be held at this station.

Almost all the men were present. SP Crimes addressed the men and said that IG Police was very unhappy over the theft of ear-studs of a kindergarten child from a school in Kollupitiya by pickpockets or ‘thugs’ and he had wanted a special class to be held by SP Crimes and ASP Crimes and to nip this in the bud.

His instructions were to send four very young looking constables and four women constables in mufty, to hang around the four schools from 7 am to 2pm and keep an eye on suspicious characters.

This duty was to go ahead until further orders.

One week had already lapsed. The men on duty at Galle Road-Turret Road junction arrested a gypsy snake charmer after questioning he was remanded for two weeks pending completion of inquiries. Two days later, the same week, the PC and the WPC on duty at a school arrested two gypsy women, and their infant daughters for loitering close to Edward Lane-Galle Road junction. They were grilled at the Police station by SP Crimes, ASP Crimes, OIC Crimes but nothing was coming out. They too were remanded for 10 days pending completion of enquiries.

Four days after remanding the gypsies, a pair of earrings had been removed from a child in the school by Ernerst de Silva Mawatha from a five year old girl who could only say that five toffees were given and earrings removed. She was too small to answer our questions.

On orders of SP Crimes a ‘B’- report was filed in Courts to bail out the two gypsy women and the man who was remanded earlier. The Magistrate was Sirimevan Amarasinghe. When he was told of the facts he ordered the prison officers go and bring them and they were to be released without bail the same afternoon itself.

One day whilst at work IP Liyanage got a telephone call. He picked up the phone and the call had been from the haughty principal and she had asked as to how the inefficient Police progressed in their ‘ear-ring’ case and OIC Crimes had replied that we are still continuing our investigations. She had abruptly cut off the line saying, I thought as much. IP Crimes had a limitless patience.

SP Crimes B W Perera summoned a second conference to be held at Kollupitiya Police and suggested that we deploy a host of policeman and woman in plain cloths to the vicinity of the four girls schools during school hours and for them to hang around. Also at the conference he emphasized that the girls that had been subjected to earlier thefts were girls under six years and both victims had been very fair in complexion.

The second phase was put into operation commencing on a Monday under the strict supervision of SP Crimes, ASP Crimes and OIC Crimes Kollupitiya, and 6 WPCS, 3 Sgts, a Sub Inspector was allocated to cover each school and all four stations were fully covered from 6.30 am to 2.00 pm.

Additional men and women Police Officers were obtained from the adjoining Police Stations.

Four days passed but nothing came up and we were still at square acre.

On the 5th day, a Friday a boy of about 15 yrs was seen accosting a small fair girl at the gate at the Ernest de Silva Road.

A constable and a woman constable had seen this and followed them. This boy was caught and brought to the Police Station post-haste.

On being informed to SP Crimes, he appeared at the Police Station Kollupitiya with ASP Mahendran, his assistant SP, ASP and IP Crimes all three questioned this boy. He did not speak a syllable and started to cry very loudly and innocently.

On searching this boys pockets, a purse was found in his hip-pock. It contained Rs 84.60 cts, which was big money for a student.

In the purse of this child was a photograph of a very beautiful girl of about 6 to 7 yrs and a visiting card of a famous lawyer in Colombo. SP Crimes petted the boy and asked whose card was this? The boy was taciturn. SP Crimes rang the number and the person who answered the call said, the lawyer was attending Courts in Hulftsdorf and told him to give a ring back to Colpetty Police Crime branch No.: 26781.

The boy complained that he was very thirsty and a bottle of soft drinks was given. He drank it at two gulps. SP Crimes said that this boy though he looks normal is mentally retarted.

Advocate Thambamuttu rang up the given number and said he will drop in Fort.

With in a period of ten minutes he appeared at the Police Station. The boy did not speak a word with his father.

By this time two sets of parents had come with the mother of another victim. The haughty Principal also had come to the Police Station, on hearing of the information to see the “Culprit”.

Before the arrival of the other complainants party, the advocate said that his wife is a Sinhalese and a lady doctor attached to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital, and both parents in-law are against their marriage and neither of them had visited their parents houses since marriage.

He further stated that this boy had a sister who was 5 years old and was attending a Montessori School, and she died about three weeks back from leukemia.

The lawyer left in his car to bring the earring. These had been three pairs of earrings stolen by this boy. These were brought to the Police Station an put on for public exhibition on the table by the advocate.The parents of the children identified them.

Ten minutes later Dr Marie Palihakkara drove her car to the Police Station. On seeing her, the boy who did not utter a syllabus till now cried on anguish. The lady doctor too was crying.

The mother pelted the boy and asked why he took these earrings. He stopped crying and said that you told me that she will walk back home from the arms of Jesus and as she liked earrings” I collected them to give her.

All the people who were present were visibly moved. Even the tough cop B W Perera was seen with tear in his eyes.

The three mothers who identified the earrings refused to take it back and suggested that they be given back to the boy. Hence B W Perera handed over the earrings to the boy who gladly grabbed it with both hands.

Even the arrogant and gullible Principal who ran down Kollupitiya Police and “blasted” SP Liyanage was looking down at her own toe nails in bitter despair most probably she could not face the police officers.

(A true case. Names of the advocate and his wife the lady doctor had been changed to cover identity)