Three-child father stabbed to death

A report emerged on the night of the 29th about a person being murdered in the Gadabba Kandhena area of Mawanella, after being stabbed in the neck with a sharp weapon. The victim of this unfortunate incident is a 42-year-old father of three named Rankothge Amila Pradeep Dilshan Jayaratne.

Mawanella Police have commenced preliminary investigations into the matter.

According to police investigations, the deceased was traveling by motorcycle from the Galathara area towards his ancestral home. When he was about 150 meters from the house, he met a woman he knew well and was talking to her at a secluded spot on the road around 8:45 PM. At that moment, the suspect, who intruded upon them, stabbed this father of three, causing serious injuries, and then fled. Despite his stab wounds, he managed to reach near his ancestral home before collapsing on the road. Although residents immediately attempted to take him to the hospital, he had already breathed his last.

Police suspect that the crime may have occurred due to an argument stemming from a long-standing close relationship between the deceased and the suspect's wife. A special police team has already been deployed to apprehend the suspect, who fled the area after the incident.

Police were able to find several large bloodstains, a pair of shoes, a motorcycle, and a helmet at the crime scene. Additionally, a white iron knife, broken in two at the handle, suspected to have been used for the murder, was also found at the location. Mawanella Acting Magistrate Ms. Nisheda Kumari Karunathilaka visited the scene and conducted the initial magisterial inquiry. Subsequently, she ordered the police to take the deceased's body to Kegalle General Hospital for post-mortem examination. Chief Inspector Dehimaduwage, OIC of the Kegalle Divisional Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and Inspector Thilakarathna are conducting further field investigations regarding this matter.