Burnt bodies in Dankotuwa van ....

Burnt bodies in Dankotuwa van ....

an act of the underworld!

Two bikes noticed on CCTV footage

It has so far been revealed from investigations carried out by now that the incident of murder with victims left burning inside the van in Dankotuwa some days back for purposes of

securing a ransom was an underworld activity.

It was on a telephone call received on the 119 emergency number last 11th morning from a villager in the area about a burnt van which later was found by the police along a by-road in a desolated bare land with the van being totally burnt; however it was not possible to identify whether anybody was in the front part of the van and that there were 5 burnt bodies inside the van, police said. A place where blood stains were found about 500 metres away were observed and the police suspect that the victims were murdered at that place after which the assailants may have aimed petrol bombs and thus set the vehicle on fire.

The first clue received in connection with the murder associated with this van was across the evidence of the wife of the driver who had come in the van to that spot on the morning of the day of the incident.

One Kapila Senerath Bandara is supposed to have driven the burnt van and he is said to have spoken to his daughter over the phone at approximately 11.00 on the previous night of the incident and he had only mentioned that he would be going on a journey in the company of some friends, Kapila's wife had told the police. This individual known as Kapila is a suspect connected to several crimes and is also known as Navy Kapila, it was understood. However, since it was not possible to identify the body in the burnt van, the wife was unable to identify that it was Navy Kapila's body.

Kapila had been involved in a number of crimes and was wanted by the police over several rape cases and it is said that he had even abused his own daughter as well.

Though it was said that this particular van was driven by Kapila, the owner of this KDH type of van bearing number 1080 in fact belongs to a female resident in Colpetty. She has been unable to pay the instalments of leasing out the van concerned and Navy Kapila happens to conduct work relating to forcible acquisition of this van in relation to this leasing company and such orders were granted to Navy Kapila and his team. Until the van was so acquired and handed over to the said Company, Kapila had been driving the van, it was learned.

During the process of police investigations pertaining to the murders committed in this van and on enquiring CCTV camera footage along a route inhabited by people close to the place of the crime they were able to note that the said van was seen in it and further, two motor cycles had been going behind the van, it was reported. It was also reported that apart from the above, the police who surveyed a location of a weekend Pola were successful in noticing a spot where blood was to be seen in the adjoining area. Suspicion has arisen that that spot too may have been used to commit the crime.

The killing has taken place somewhere between 2.30 and 3.00 in dawn as revealed in investigations over the dead bodies. There is evidence to prove that after the murder was committed and other than the vehicle, tyre marks of the said two motor cycles were noticed as having proceeded along the by-road concerned.

The police have covered evidence from about 20 individuals in relation to the incident and they say that 5 persons have been taken into custody in connection with the incident. The police however are still clueless as to who else had died other than Navy Kapila. Possibly because of links with the underworld, it has been a difficult task to get at the relations. Investigations have been launched by the Criminal Investigation Department and across 7 police teams in relation to the crime.