Baby boy’s body exhumed from pit on canal bank

Mother, paramour in custody:

Mahanama Vithanage - Malwana group corr

The body of a one and a half year old boy who had died in a house in Ihala Lunugama under mysterious circumstances was exhumed from a pit on the bank of a canal nearby 12 days later on August 13 on the orders of Pugoda Magistrate and Additional District Judge Aravinda Perera for an inquest.

This follows a complaint by the Pugoda Police that one and a half year old Sandaru Dilshan Bandara of Ihala Lunugama had been reported missing from his home and that his 26 year old mother and paramour aged, 32, a former soldier who earns a living by selling lottery tickets have been taken into custody on suspicion in this connection.

Police said in their complaint that according to information provided by neighbours and their own investigations the child had died on July 31 due to failure to provide timely medication for a grave illness and the body had been surreptitiously buried around 6 pm the same day.

The child’s mother who had borne two other children had separated from her husband two months ago and come to live in her paramour’s house with his legal wife. Her legal husband is living at Walapathana Pottuvil Road, Siyambalanduwa with one of her children.

The paramour had been in the habit of mercilessly beating the child for trivial things according to evidence given by both women. As such Police suspected the child to have died of assault. The child’s body was exhumed in the presence of Pugoda Acting Magistrate Chandrani Payagala Bandara, Gampaha JMO Dr S P A Hewage, a team of police officrs led by Gampaha Police Crimes OIC Inspector Dasantha Silva, Pugoda Police OIC Inspector Nilanga Bandara and the suspect, former soldier now in police custody.

The body which was found wrapped in a piece of cloth was handed over to JMO Dr S P A Hewage for a post-mortem examination.