Enraged that the rent of the upper floor was given to his son, the homeowner father set fire, killing two and then committing suicide.

As the flames that erupted from the upper floor of a multi-story house subsided, what emerged was the tragic story of three human lives turned to ashes. The wrath in a human heart, ignited over property, ultimately claimed innocent lives and turned the entire house into a tomb.

A mother and her sixteen-year-old daughter, who were residing on rent in a two-story house located on United Welfare Avenue, Pamunuwa Road, Maharagama, have died after the house was inhumanely set on fire. The 76-year-old homeowner, believed to be the main suspect in this horrific crime, also succumbed to severe burn injuries after being hospitalized due to being caught in the fire, dying early the next morning.

It is believed that the residents were asleep when this tragedy occurred on the night of the 18th. Those who died in the fire are 55-year-old M. B. Rathnakanthi Wickramaarachchi and her beloved daughter, 16-year-old S. Wathsarani Rathnayake. The girl's father, 46-year-old Chaminda Rathnayake, who sustained serious injuries in this brutal arson, is currently fighting for his life in the Intensive Care Unit of Kalubowila Teaching Hospital. Residents immediately intervened to extinguish the fire and hospitalized the two injured men. Later, upon inspecting the house, the burnt bodies of the mother and daughter were found inside a room.

According to information revealed by police investigations, this was not merely an accident but a cruel crime committed with premeditation. A strong smell of petrol was emanating from the crime scene, and police suspect that the homeowner, Oliver Patrick Wijesinghe, took a can filled with petrol to the upper floor and set the fire. As the fire spread throughout the house, it also engulfed his body, and he too became a victim. It has now been revealed that the root cause of this tragedy was a long-standing family dispute over the house's rent money.

Police also stated that the family caught in the fire was residing on rent, and a Tamil family was renting the lower floor. The deceased homeowner was staying in a corner room on the lower floor. Police said that his son was married and living in a separate rented house. Police also stated that the rent for the upper floor was collected by the homeowner's son, and the rent for the lower floor was collected by the deceased homeowner. Police further stated that it was revealed that disputes had arisen from time to time between the tenants on the upper floor and the homeowner.

Investigations confirmed that the deceased homeowner was residing in one room on the lower floor, and since the rent for the upper floor was collected by his son, who lived in a different house, frequent conflicts arose between the upper-floor residents and the homeowner when the father came to collect rent and was refused.

Nugegoda Magistrate Mr. Desmond Jayasekara has conducted a magisterial inquiry into the incident, and the Criminal Investigation Division is conducting further investigations under the instructions of the Acting OIC of Maharagama Police.

An irrational rage over property and money ultimately turned not only the property thought to be lost, the innocent lives cruelly sacrificed, but also the life of the perpetrator, into ashes in a single blaze. All that remains are burnt walls and a painful, indelible memory.