Unfortunate incident at Pitigala

Tragedy of mother who committed suicide with younger daughter ....thinking that unconscious daughter had died!

An O/L student who was advised by her mother against carrying on a love affair had taken some medicinal pills and had become unconscious when the mother who became upset thinking that the girl
had died in the process had jumped into a well with her other younger daughter and had committed suicide. This unfortunate incident was reported from Pitigala area.

A mother of three from Pitigala, Waththahena Thalgaswela area has committed suicide in this manner with her 8 year old daughter day before yesterday by jumping into a well. The deceased in this case are Priyanthi Weerasingha (36) the mother and the daughter Githmi Nanayakkara (8).

A daughter of the woman had been involved in a romance and the mother having come to know about it had advised the daughter concerned against it.

This daughter who got disturbed over it had taken an overdose of tablets which the mother had in her possession for medical purposes. As a result the girl had collapsed. The mother then carrying her 8 year old daughter in her arms, pretending to rush to call a three-wheeler had instead run towards a well on a land belonging to a neighbour and had thus committed suicide with the small girl.

The neighbours in the meantime had taken the unconscious girl to Elpitiya Hospital. However, hospital sources say that the condition of the girl is out of danger. Later the neighbours had got together and searched for the mother and the younger daughter. When noticing a pair of slippers near the said well and inquiring further the mother was found inside the well, cuddling the little girl.

It is suspected that the mother had thought that the girl who swallowed the pills and fell unconscious had died; then committed suicide for fear over the incident.

The girl who attempted suicide was a 15 year old schoolgoing child. She was a girl who had sat for her O/L examination. In fact, she had come home having written her O/L subject which was held day before yesterday (15), on the day of the incident.

Because the mother had advised her against the love affair, the girl had taken the medicinal pills in excess. The girl's father had died some 7 years ago while another elder girl happens to be overseas. The deceased mother had been struggling to make the lives of the girls comfortable and thus keep the home-fires burning by engaging in labourer-work.