CHATURANGA PRADEEP SAMARAWICKRAMA Reply To:
Name - Reply Comment
Teacher allegedly burnt soles of girl’s feet to drive away evil spirit
A horrific tale of alleged torture on a school-girl from Horowpathana was reported recently. A. Ranjani Kumari (17) of Suwa Udana village, Morakawa, Horowpathana alleged that she had to face severe cruelty at the hands of a teacher at school who had allegedly also dabbled in black magic and exorcism for a living at a ‘Devale’ that he owned along with his wife who was also said to engage in fortune telling.This incident had remained a secret for more than a month. Kumari was hoping to sit for the G.C.E (O/L) examination this year.
Her family had levelled allegations against the teacher saying that he had burnt the soles of their daughter’s foot when she refused to work as a servant at his house. She was presently staying in house belonging to a relative in Seeppukulama, Anuradhapura.
She explained what had happened to her in these words. “Jayalath sir who taught us requested me to come and look after his child. I acceded to his request as I had finished my exam and my father was not alive. My mother earns a livelihood by selling vegetables. He promised to pay me Rs.500/=. I went to work for 9 days. He brought another young girl to work at his home. Then I stopped going to work there because the new girl had begun to look after the baby. His wife was very stern. People come to their devale every day for consultations and black magic etc. When I tried to leave them his wife threatened me to practice black magic on me too. After some time, I found that the soles of my feet had developed sores and was numb.
Her mother, K.A. Dayawathi (56) explained what has happened to her daughter in this manner:
I have eight children to look after. My husband died after falling into a lake. I cannot do any hard labour work because the LTTE shot me and my arm was damaged. I borrow something from the villagers for the survival of my children and also sell a few vegetables. It was after the exam was over that the teacher came and took my daughter to work for him. However, she refused to go to work there. They threatened to bring down the wrath of the gods on us in retaliation for this. They have a Devale and practise black magic also. Three days after that my daughter fell ill. We pleaded with the teacher to heal my daughter’s wounds. Then he requested us to bring her to their Devale. He said that she was devil possessed and that he would have to try and coax the devil out of her. After that my son and several others helped to lift her into a room. Then I found out that the soles of her feet had been burnt by them. Thereafter I took my daughter to the Horowpathana Hospital for treatment and she was later transferred to the Anuradhapura Hospital as the burns on her feet were severe. This incident took place on December 21 last year. The Horowpathana police came and got a statement from us. They promised to file action against them. We do not know what happened after that. Some reporters came from the newspapers saying that they are going to publish this incident but they did not do so.
The Police inspector of the Horowpatana police L.A.D. Ratnaweera said that action had been filed against the suspect teacher after he turned himself over to the deputy IGP of the Central Province. The Inspector said that they were investigating reports that this teacher had been running a devale and treating the patients in the area using black magic.
This family is in a very deplorable condition that they are unable to eke out their living and for her medical treatment. She is being looked after her brother. Her mother requests the general public to assist them by donating a wheel chair. Those who are willing to help this family could get more information by calling Tel. No:- 0723354318. (News and Pix by Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa)
Comments - 14
Recommended
You May Also Like
Trending
