Kahawatte tense

Yasaratne gamage and ratnapura sp.cor. Niroshana perera

A tense situation erupted in Kahawatte yesterday as angry mobs set fire to four houses after news spread in the area of the arrest of suspects by CID over the double murder in Opatha early last month. Thousands gathered in Kahawatte town and burnt tyres to show their disapproval over the killings and to demonstrate their support for the arrests.

STF and Kahawatte Police dispersed the mob and brought the situaton under control by yesterday evening.

The mob set fire to four houses, including two houses in Kotakethana and Walawwaththa, that belonged to a Pradeshiya Sabha member and one of his brother’s.

Another house which was set ablaze belonged to a three wheeler driver in Samagipura. They were seen responsible for the double murder which took place earlier in February.

The shocking incident which led to the unrest yesterday occurred in early February when Kavindya Chathuranganie (daughter ) and Nayana Nilmini (mother ) were found dead with sharp injuries in a forest area in Opatha after a prolonged search operation since they were reported to have gone missing. Several police teams under the direction of the senior DIG in charge of the Sabaragamuwa Province were deployed to nab the suspects while CID also took over the investigations.

Meanwhile, police sources said that the main suspect involved in the double murder in Kahawatte was to be arrested yesterday evening as Police have received all information related to the incident.

Three suspects are being interrogated by the CID over this incident and Police are on the trail of the main suspect and a politician. Information about the suspects who have been arrested was not reaveled by CID at the time of going to press.