Drug-addicted husband arrested on suspicion of murdering wife in Kundasale

The sudden death of 23-year-old beautiful young woman Hashinika Samanmali, who resided at her husband's house in Warapitiya, Kundasale area, has currently caused a great stir in society. Her dead body was found inside a room in the house in the early hours of the 20th, and her 25-year-old husband, Udesh Perera, states that she committed suicide by hanging herself.

Although he stated that as soon as he saw the body, he cut the saree tied around her neck and placed her on the bed, the deceased young woman's father, U.K.D. Sumanasiri, and mother, Pathmini Weerawardhana, strongly reject this statement. They suspect that the husband and his family members jointly brutally assaulted and murdered their daughter, and then hung the body from a rafter in the house to make it appear as a suicide.

Hashinika, a resident of Suduhumpala, Kandy, had received her education from a well-known girls' school in Kandy and met Udesh when she attended an extra class. Despite her parents' strong opposition to her relationship with this young man who didn't even have a job, they secretly got married. Later, upon learning about the secret marriage, the parents, albeit reluctantly, took steps to organize another wedding ceremony for them. However, it is reported that after the marriage, Hashinika, who moved into Udesh's house in Warapitiya, faced various problems within a very short period.

The parents of the deceased young woman state that due to Udesh's severe drug addiction, frequent disagreements and quarrels arose between them. During their approximately one and a half years of married life, Hashinika returned to her parents' home in Suduhumpala several times due to the inhumane torture and assaults inflicted by him. Several complaints regarding this were filed at the Balagolla and Karalliyadda police stations, but each time Udesh would come to the Suduhumpala house, promise not to assault her again, and take her back. Two days before her death, she was again assaulted and came to her parents' home, where her parents advised her to take the necessary legal steps for a divorce. However, Udesh arrived the very next day and, despite her parents' opposition, took Hashinika back to their house in Kundasale.

On the afternoon of the day before her death, Udesh had gone to watch a musical show in Kundasale with some of his cousins, and it has been revealed that he had quarreled with Hashinika and assaulted her even before that. The parents of the deceased young woman accuse her husband and household members of brutally assaulting her, and after her death, making a false attempt to portray it as a suicide. Meanwhile, the acting Magistrate of Teldeniya Court, Mr. Saman Ratnayake, conducted the magisterial inquiry into the death. During the inquiry, a suspicious letter was presented, and although the residents claimed it was written by the deceased young woman, when the Magistrate showed it to Hashinika's parents and brother and questioned them, they strongly asserted that the handwriting was not their daughter's.

The OIC of Pallekele Police, who is leading the investigations into the incident, has reported the facts to the court, stating it as a suspicious death. Accordingly, the Teldeniya Magistrate has ordered the specialist Judicial Medical Officer of Kandy National Hospital to conduct a post-mortem examination on the dead body and submit a report. An inquiry by the Pallekele Police revealed that both the deceased young woman's husband and her father have currently been taken into police custody for further investigations. Relatives are appealing to legal authorities for justice for their daughter, who they believe was brutally assaulted and murdered, and it is expected to be revealed after the Judicial Medical Officer's examination whether she committed suicide or was murdered and then hung.