Murder of German Tech lecturer -- exorcist who undertook to perform ritual for delay of marriage ... digs pit and buries lecturer alive!

Murder of German Tech lecturer -- exorcist who undertook to perform ritual for delay of marriage ... digs pit and buries lecturer alive!

A person supposed to have fled after murdering a lecturer of German Technical Training Institute and his dead body being buried in a coconut estate and in addition has removed gold items to the value of 15 pounds have been taken into custody day before yesterday (11) by a team of police officers Kuliyapitiya police headquarters. 

The victim in this instance is a bachelor named Basnayaka Mudiyanselage Nanditha Mahinda Basnayaka aged 45 years and at the time of Mr. Basnayaka was buried, it was revealed at
investigations carried out after the suspect was arrested, a senior police officer said. The suspect has admitted that Mr. Basnayaka was murdered to find money to buy a three-wheeler and had robbed gold jewellery in the victim's possession, during interrogation by police, it was understood. 

The suspect so arrested is one Sujith, a 40 year old father of four children living in Welipenagahamulla belonging to Dummalasuriya police division. He was someone who eked out a living for sometime by plucking coconuts and had plucked coconuts in the 25 acre estate belonging to Mr. Basnayaka during that period, police say. 

At a later stage he has stopped plucking coconuts and had instead gone into cultivation of betel and thus made his living that way. Police say that suspect Sujith has told Mr. Basnayaka that the soul of an incumbent of a vihara who had passed away some years back had from time to time been taking possession of him. The suspect has further mentioned that he had on several instances told Mr. Basnayaka that on such occasions he is endowed with a power to cure sicknesses and to dispel malefic planetary influences. Suspect Sujith has told that it was the influence of the malefic planets that has influenced him to delay his marriage and that he could drive away all such negative influences powers at his disposal by performing a ritual and hasten the marriage. 

Basnayaka who thus believed the words of the suspect has had several rituals conducted across the suspect and has even paid him somewhere between Rs. 50,000 and 75,000. Later he had instructed Basnayaka that in order to conduct the final ritual, Mr. Basnayaka would have to bring all gold items in the house. Basnayaka who consented to this has brought those things and handed them over to the suspect. Afterwards a pit was dug in the corner of the land of 25 acres where Mr. Basnayaka's home was and lamps were lit inside the pit with incense-sticks being lit. It is learned that preparations were made by the suspect to have Mr. Basnayaka recline in that pit with all gold items inserted into a doll and the doll be placed on Mr. Basnayaka's body after which the ritual was to begin. Before doing so, the suspect has instructed Mr. Basnayaka to light the coconut oil lamp. 

Just at the moment Mr. Basnayaka happened to stoop down to the pit and light the lamp, the suspect has dealt a blow on Mr. Basnayaka's head with a mammoty and then left his victim in the pit and closed it up, finally fleeing with the gold items inside the doll. 

All this information was told to police when this suspect was interrogated. The suspect has then confessed to police that the jewellery taken after the murder was given to a friend who mortgaged it to a state bank in Natthandiya and obtained a sum of Rs. 460,000. The suspect further added that after getting that money from the friend had then handed it over to his younger brother for safety and as a result both individuals were taken into custody. 

On a tip-off given by a woman serving at Mr. Basnayaka's coconut estate, excavations were begun and the dead body taken out and that was on last 6th. The body which was exhumed in the presence of chief judicial medical officer of Kuliyapitiya teaching hospital consultant medical officer, Dr. Ajith Jayasingha was subjected to a preliminary magisterial inquiry by Kuliyapitiya magistrate Mrs. Janani Shashikala Wijeytunga. Mr. Basnayaka's mother had even lodged a complaint with Kuliyapitiya police headquarters that her son who left home on on the night of last 5th had disappeared. Further inquiries are underway. 

(Shrinath Prasanna Jayasuriya)