Father of two who came to rescue mother and daughter from buffalo ... dies by being gored to death by same buffalo!

Father of two who came to rescue mother and daughter from buffalo ... dies by being gored to death by same buffalo!

A pathetic incident is reported from Kekulawala area in Wellawa police division where a lorry driver aged 44 years and father of two children had volunteered to transport to hospital a woman and her daughter injured by chasing a buffalo while working in a betel plot of land. 

It is one P.A. Priyantha Ruwan Kumara, a father of two living in Kekulawela who has lost his life in this manner. It was revealed from police investigations that the mother and daughter concerned have

run into an abandoned house nearby to escape being attacked by the buffalo and had closed the door when the buffalo has attacked the door of that house. When neighbours had tried to take the injured mother and daughter to hospital and the driver who came in the small lorry to transport the two of them were attacked by this buffalo, police say. In the instance when the driver had gone to chase the buffalo towards the Deduru Oya reservoir, though neighbours had managed to put the mother and daughter to the lorry, but as the driver had not come back, it was found that he too was subjected to the attack of the buffalo and was observed having collapsed in the middle of the plot of betel. Subsequently all three of them were hospitalised, police say.

Hospital sources say that even when the driver who faced the attack from the buffalo was admitted to Kurunegala general hospital .. he had breathed his last while the mother and daughter who themselves were attacked are under treatment at the hospital.

It is learned that the buffalo's owner in fact has no scientific knowledge or experience about rearing animals as such. This particular buffalo had on previous occasions attacked several persons and in one such instance a person ended up with a broken hand. This young buffalo which happened to live a solitary life as a pet in the house has never had the opportunity of living together in a herd with other buffalos. It was also revealed that it had broken away from the rope which it was tied to and on a number of instances had strayed around creating fright among villagers and that even children had not gone to school and had been in hiding. The buffalo was more amenable to the deceased and on most occasions it had broken away from the rope .. if the owner was not available, it was the deceased who had tied it up, the villagers had told police. When this buffalo was born, the ox (female) had died at the time the owner had roped the cattle and was away on a long journey. In the process five heads of cattle who had been without food and water have died as a result and the ox referred to had delivered the cub before her death. 

The owner of this cattle had come one day and kept the cub inside his house and had reared it by feeding it with types of powdered milk and thus the owner has thereafter lived with great affection as his intimate pet, it was revealed. Wellawa police are conducting inquiries on this incident. 

- Priyani Mangalika -