Kahawattha stream of murders taken for advantage thinking that heroin business would be exposed in the process ... Raju who killed mother and daughter ... enjoys death penalty!

Kahawattha stream of murders taken for advantage thinking that heroin business would be exposed in the process ... Raju who killed mother and daughter ... enjoys death penalty!

During the network of female killings that took place at Kahawattha, Kotakethana in the year 2012, a mother and daughter were murdered brutally because of a personal reason. Lokugamhewage Darshana alias Raju was issued death sentence by high court judge Mr. Vikum Kaluaarachchi for having brutally murdered the mother and daughter and was found guilty in the said crime. This verdict was given after a case that was drawn for a period of 7 years because allegations against the accused were proved without any justified doubt or suspicion. 

Attorney general had filed action against Raju and his wife for having murdered Nayana Nilmini
(aged 52 years) and her daughter Kavindya Chathurangi Sellahewa (17 years) on January 31st in the year 2012 in . Ratnapura Kotakethana area. However the wife concerned was found not guilty and acquitted. 

Information was received that this person called Raju who was supposed to be a brother of co-ordinating secretary L.M. Dharmasiri was dealing in heroin business and that the 17 year old Kavindya was was duped and had made it a practice of having her transport heroin when she was going to school through the process of depositing it in her school-bag. However, things had gone wrong and when this came into the attention of the girl's mother and on the assumption that everything would come to light it was revealed that this dual murder was executed. As several mysterious murders were taking place during that period in Kahawattha, Kotakethana, Raju had taken it to his advantage and though Raju had committed this dual murder as just one of those killings, everything was exposed later.  

According to statements of villagers, Raju, a three-wheel driver by the name of Sanath Chandana who aided and abetted him in the murder plus Raju's wife were taken into custody and interrogation was in progress at that time and suspicion about Raju however increased on the fact that Raju was someone who was subjected to suspicion about criminal activities even earlier. He actually admitted in police to have engaged in these particular killings. Raju had further revealed and admitted that he together with his brother member of parliament Dharmasiri's son had carried on the racket of selling heroin and that the reason of these murders was an issue that cropped up over that racket. 

Incidentally, Raju was addressed by deceased eighteen year old Kavindya as 'Raju maama' and some time back he had met her on the road and had made the request of giving a helping hand to deliver a parcel of food to one of his friends in Ratnapura as it had to be sent daily and to thus hand it over when on the way to school. Raju has told her not to tell this to her mother and Kavindya had agreed to it. On that consent though daily a parcel of heroin was so transported to a friend in Ratnapura through her, the innocent schoolgirl has delivered the parcel daily, continuously to the friend without knowing that it contained heroin.  

In the meantime when in the month of January one day when after putting Raju's parcel into her bag in the morning and was travelling a short distance Kavindya had felt sick and thus returned home and in the instance the girl's mother examined the daughter's bag, a parcel containing heroin was detected and when she was questioned about it she was told that she was not aware that it was a parcel of heroin and that it was given to her by Raju Maama. 

Though a rumour has gone round that that there were heroin racketeers racketeers in the area, Kavidya's mother had come to know only that day that Raju and the crowd were engaged in this business. She then proceeded to inform her that transporting heroin is a big offence and then went in front of Raju's house and shouted saying not to have her innocent daughter get involved in malicious activities. If you dare have us involved in these things she would inform police; thus frightening them. 

The above incident happened towards beginning of January in 2012. Then towards the middle of January Raju's partner, provincial council member's son was charged on alleged suspicion of distributing heroin and ended up in jail and that was while he was occupied in the welfare position as a job and was supplying heroin to the prison. In the meantime both provincial council member and Raju were under the impression that this arrest happened on a tip off to police was the work of Kavindya's mother as the closest incident of threatening was from her. Under these circumstances they may have decided to murder her and her daughter. 

Raju, his wife and a three-wheel driver by the name of Sanath too were involved in this gruesome dual murder. It is said that around 8 in the night on January 30th, 2012 they had approached the victims' house and as someone with Raju's wife Batti's voice was heard the door was opened. It was confessed that the victims were imprisoned with the door being locked after which a blow was dealt with a machete above the eye of Kavindya's mother Nayana Nilmini and initially killed her. It was then said that Kavindya came rushing to the spot shouting, "Why did you do a thing like this maame?" and that instantly a blow was dealt on her too with the machete. 

Whatever it is, a part of the strategy was to give the impression that Kavindya's death was the result of a rape and thus Kavindya's dead body was loaded into the three-wheeler and was taken into a jungle about 4 kilometres from there, it was confessed while Raju's wife has got down from the three-wheeler on the way and then Raju and Sanath had washed the dead body from a rivulet and her ear rings were removed subsequent to which she was raped. Later the head was made to fall down on top of her arms and after which they had made a retreat. 

After this incident Raju who went panting to his house, it is reported had applied paint on blood stains on his hands were smeared on the walls in order to cover those stains. Reports were published that having gathered the blood-smeared clothing of the murder and had proceeded to hide them inside a brook. The suspects have confessed that these murders were executed because they wanted to prevent information about this heroin dealing being exposed and that Kavindya's mother would turn out to be threat in the future. 

The provincial council member referred to who is supposed to have been a co-ordinating secretary of the then minister Mr. John Seneviratna and was said to be Raju's brother together with his family had fled the area and had thus gone into hiding. Sometime later they had surrendered to police. Whatever it is, they were released after a few months.Though this provincial council member and his brother had attempted to wash their hands off by adding this murder to the string of murders of elderly women, since the media at that time flashed news about this in a powerful manner and political influence too went beyond bounds, police took this into their hands in the proper manner they should. 

The ancestral home of provincial council member Dharmasiri who planned out the murder as well as the house of Raju who carried out the plan were set fire to by Kahawaththa once names of the offenders were highlighted. Finally, Lokugamhewage Darshana alias Raju was was found guilty to the crime of brutally murdering a mother and her daughter was given the death penalty by high court, Colombo.