Neighbours clueless by Shezna Shums and Dharisha Bastians

A curious eeriness envelopes the little residential area along the Kottawa-Malabe Road where eight of Karuna's supporters were brutally killed last Sunday. At 12 noon, there is no activity in the area to speak of and most of the houses remain padlocked from outside. First impressions create a doubt as to whether there can be human habitation in the area at all.

Two policemen stand guard at the house in which the killings took place. Even now, the neighbourhood does not seem to have grasped the enormity of the calamity that struck virtually at their doorstep.

When The Sunday Leader visited the area the roads were literally deserted. The house directly opposite the place where the murders took place was closed up as the owners were at work. People in the neighbouring houses appeared to be going about their work, very quietly. They told The Sunday Leader that when they heard the shots that Sunday morning, they thought they were firecrackers being lit for a wedding nakatha and didn't think twice about it. It was only after the police and the media arrived at the scene at about 11 a.m., did the neighbours realise what had happened.

According to a report by the National Intelligence Bureau, the killings took place at around 3:20 a.m. at a house owned by Prasad Kulasekera who is currently in India. The new tenants moved in on July 2.

Kusuma Gunewardena lives with her retired husband and two children just across the little gravel lane down which the crime took place. "We really don't know who leases out these houses. Unless we stand near the gate, we can't see any movement either. But recently I commented to my daughter that since the new people moved in, the vehicles arriving at the area had increased considerably. However, none of us knew which house the vehicles were going to," said Gunewardena.

Despite the criticism being levelled at the police about the fact that they had to be tipped off by a media report, the fact remains that in this particular neighbourhood a murder in broad daylight could go unnoticed for days, perhaps weeks.

"The police scolded us for not being more vigilant," said Disna Siriwardane, a mother of two living close by. "I suppose they had a point. None of us know each other very well, and we rarely venture out of our houses at all," she said, adding that the incident had made her become extremely shaky once night falls.

As for the scene of the crime, Siriwardane said she didn't even know there was a house down that lane until she heard about the shooting. Studying the surroundings, it's easy to see why such a house would be used to store hideaways. The gravel lane at the bottom of which the house is situated is completely blocked from view of those travelling along the road by grass grown over five feet tall and fairly dense forestation beyond. The only place from which the house and the activities going on inside could be seen, would be from the house directly opposite, where the neighbours said a couple lived with their young daughter.
The Kottawa-Malabe Road is a much travelled one and just beyond this little sleepy neighbourhood, is a bustling junction and plenty of activity. How many such ghost neighbourhoods must there be in Colombo and its suburbs, and what kind of activities are going on in them is anyone's guess.

(www.sundayleader.lk , 1st August, 2004)