"The person who killed my daughter is not her boy friend" -- Special media meeting about Kottawa Tharindi-murder, by her mother

"The person who killed my daughter is not her boy friend" -- Special media meeting about Kottawa Tharindi-murder, by her mother

Tharindi Aloka (26) the young girl of Kottawa was murdered in her house which incident created a sensation during the recent past and her mother Kamala Egodawatta held a special media briefing yesterday and informed that because of the confession given by the murderer in relation to that murder which contained errors as a result pf which her daughter was subjected to slander and therefore it was necessary to rectify that situation.

She exposed all information in this respect with tears in her eyes and said that they had no proposal in

view to get the daughter married to this murderer and added that the statement the killer had given to police was published based on the information creating the impression that he was her lover and much of the evidence so published was erroneous.

The youth by the name of Kasun, the murderer of Tharindi Aloka who is presently under remand incidentally came to be known to this family sometime before this. Tharindi's mother said that the assailant was not a businessman as such but that he was introduced to them by one Lasantha a businessman who was engaged in organising foreign travels. Lasantha in fact had served at an adjoining business location close to a business spot near theirs.

"Lasantha knows us for a period of about 25 years. He left that business-place and went to work in a foreign travel establishment. At that time my husband also went to Bangkok through that firm. It was on that trip that we came to know this person called Kasun. Initially Kasun had made a transaction of 5 lakhs from us across Lasantha. Later on he became a frequent visitor to our home. He thus became a close associate of our family. He in fact served us as a driver. He used to reveal all personal matters to us. For the most time he would keep company with me and my husband. He had a girl to marry in Matara. He had told us about that very attractive lover of his.

My deceased daughter Tharindi had a boy friend even before that. Since that person was of a different religion we refused to grant our permission. Therefore the connection crashed. Tharindi later went to follow a course on Beauty Culture in Malaysia; but because of an issue concerning the course she returned within the space of a month. Subsequently she got ready to go to Japan and studied Japanese. She studied Japanese well and worked as a Japanese teacher too at that institute in Battaramulla. After that her idea of going to Japan was changed and showed a liking to go to Australia.

As such, we had to seek Kasun's support for work related to her visa. Kasun had told that he would marry his lover in his village and would go to Australia. As he was in a position to secure visa in that country and as he was a friend of our family we told Kasun to inquire into the matter of Tharindi going abroad. As such Kasun would come frequently and meet Tharindi.

In the meantime, without our knowledge he had tried to get round Tharindi. It was only after daughter died that we came to know everything. Kasun had for a period of 3 months worried daughter asking for her consent. Without even telling us daughter had visited the Police Women's Unit and had lodged a complaint with a friend of hers. 3 days prior to the macabre incident she had got down Kasun's lover, a brother of Kasun and a relative to a restaurant and exposed how Kasun had become a menace to her and that was in front of all of them. Kasun in fact was to wed that village girl friend on the day of this murder.

Under these circumstances as the cat was out of the bag, it was learned that Kasun's village lover had got angry with him. Further, that affair also had gone on the rocks. It was for that revenge that he had committed this murder. On the evening of the day prior to the murder I attended a bana-ceremony at a home and it was after having known this that he had come to our house. Podi duwa and loku duwa were at home. He had told podi duwa to close the door and had given the impression that he was leaving the house from the front door and had surreptiously entered through the back door and having armed himself with a knife he had climbed to the top floor in a manner that nobody in the house was aware of it. He had hid himself throughout the night on the third floor and the next day even gave me a call in the morning as if it was someone from a bank who was calling ... asking me to come over for the purpose of getting my signature for some documents. He thus had wanted to send me out; but I was not able to make him out from his voice. Thinking that it was a joke I didn't take much notice of it.

Media reports which say that nobody else was there at the time daughter was murdered were incorrect. At the time of the incident I was there in the house. But I was on the bottom floor. Tharindi was murdered in a way that I could not hear anything. In any case he had entered the second floor of the house and had murdered daughter and finished his plan. He then came to the bottom floor where I was as if someone who had just then come to the house at that time. Even before this since he had come casually like that there was nothing unusual.

He asked whether there was any quid. As there was quid on the table he took them. He even went to the bathroom to wash his face. I noticed that his face was swollen. What I thought was that he had had a bout of drinks and after sleeping on the road had walked in here. I told him, "Don't disgrace your father and mother after sleeping on the road!" Then he said, "There you are ... I attended to the jeep and brought it after repairs ... all my work is over ... here I'm ... missing". So saying he just stepped out as if nothing had happened.

Only when podi duwa came home and looked for akka that we knew that daughter had died. The story of how much this man strived to to get round my daughter who died ... we did not know until the killing. If we knew of course we wouldn't have left the doors opened to him. The torment which my deceased daughter had undergone she had called and told her friends ... but had not told anything to us. Her journey to Australia was confirmed on the 28th, a week later after her demise and she was making preparations for it. For the matter about preparing visas Kasun had secured particulars about my bank accounts and he had arranged his visa also. He had taken about 16 lakhs from me from time to time.

After the murder though police took statements from us once, made no inquiries after that. In the process, after surrendering to police Kasun had woven various stories and had even told stories which degraded my daughter, leading others astray. If he was to take something from my daughter's phone, he wouldn't have gone away leaving behind that phone which had fallen where daughter was killed.

He's not a millionaire. It was through us that he tried to become a millionaire. Without a cent in his hand he wanted to become rich through us. I have heard so many times how daughter used to reprimand him saying 'balla' (dog). He's supposed to have worried daughter intensely for 3 months asking for daughter's love. She had found it so unbearable to the extent that she was to go and complain to Women's Bureau. We can't understand why daughter told those things only to her friends. We didn't know any of these things".