BRIDE DIES AFTER HONEYMOON AT AGBOPURA

Did break-up of affair and parental infuence to marry another make her jump into well?
 Did crafty bridegroom kill bride?

     An unfortunate and suspected case of a young girl who had to marry another by leaving her long-term association with her lover because of a proposal brought forward by her parents was found dead inside a well after her honeymoon was reported from Agbopura 84 in Kantalai.

    Details according to reports are as follows:
 Champika Udayakanthi, 30 years of age was an attractive girl resident in Danture, Kandy and was having a love affair to which her parents had strongly opposed. In order to break the affair, the parents of the girl had made use of a marriage broker to find a partner for her. The marriage broker had then brought a proposal from a 33 year old man who was engaged in the area and who was involved in a business of selling sand.

       Later, the person so proposed, Duminda Roshan had got married to her on the 16th of this month. The two of them had come to know each other for a period of 2 months although thoughts of the girl had continuously been with her former lover. On16th night the couple had spent the honeymoon at a hotel in Habarana and had celebrated the homecoming the following day (17) at the bridegroom's house in Kantalai.

     Celebrations had gone on till1.30 in the morning and it is said that the couple has retired to their room. The following day the bride had been present at the breakfast table together with the sister of the bridegroom; but after that she was not to be seen. Later, a search was conducted within the house and in the garden for the bride in the company of the bridegroom. However, as she was not to be seen, the householders had looked for her all over the village.

    Ultimately, the bride's dead body was found inside the well of the premises. The body was then taken out from the well by the police. Villagers are now spreading rumours about the unfortunate death of the girl who celebrated her wedding just 2 days previously on the 16th.
  
    The opinion of the majority of the people is that Champika who had removed her wedding ring had committed suicide and jumped into the well because she was made to marry another by her parents while the earlier attachment was still active.

    What the father and younger brother of the dead girl says is that she had phoned them on the 16th night and told that she had fallen into serious trouble and that it was a result of her kamma. She had further identified the newly-wed bridegroom as a culprit-businessman selling sand. Under such circumstances the father and the younger brother had requested for an impartial inquiry into the death as they suspect that someone had strangled her to death and dumped her dead body into the well. The brother further said that a dowry problem may have been the root cause and her sister had been subjected to disgrace.

    Coroner into Sudden Deaths, Mr.Namal Udayakumara of Kantalai who examined the body ordered it to be despatched to the Polonnaruwa Hospital for further examination for lack of facilities at the Kantalai Base Hospital.

   Further investigations are being conducted.