By The moment she stepped off the plane, her fate was sealed.
The 24-year-old woman had barely taken a breath of Sri Lankan air when law enforcement moved in. Officers from the Seeduwa Police were waiting, their presence unnoticed by the other weary travelers shuffling through immigration at Bandaranaike International Airport. She had returned home from Dubai, perhaps thinking she could slip through unnoticed.
She was wrong.
As soon as her passport was scanned, the system flagged her. Within seconds, officers surrounded her. There was no dramatic chase, no desperate plea for leniency—just a quiet, resigned nod as the handcuffs clicked into place.
The murder she thought she had left behind had finally caught up with her.
A Crime That Shook a Nation
To understand why her arrest mattered, we must go back two years—to September 14, 2022, the day a crime so chilling unfolded that it sent shockwaves through Sri Lanka.
The Sri Nandarama Temple in Wettewa, Seeduwa, was a place of peace. A place of prayer. A place where people came seeking wisdom and solace. But on that day, it became a crime scene.
The body of Ven. Nedagamuwe Mahanama Thero, the temple’s Chief Incumbent, was found in a state that left no doubt—this was murder. His hands were bound, his mouth gagged. The smell of death had led neighbors to alert the police, and what they found inside the temple shattered the illusion of serenity.
Someone had wanted the monk dead. But who? And why?
The Fugitive Monk
The first clue came in the form of a missing novice monk—a boy no older than 18, who had been living under the guidance of the slain Thero. By the time police began their investigation, the young monk was already on the run.
His destination? Dubai.
But before he could escape, officers at Bandaranaike International Airport intercepted him. A frightened teenager, caught in the act, attempting to flee a crime too big for him to contain.
Under questioning, the pieces of the puzzle began to take shape. The murder, it seemed, was not an act of sudden violence—it had been planned.
The motive? A dispute over temple property and stolen valuables, including vehicles. But the young monk had not acted alone.
That’s where she came in.
The Woman in the Shadows
As the investigation deepened, police uncovered a shocking connection.
The novice monk had an accomplice—a woman he had been romantically involved with. From Dubai, she had helped orchestrate the crime, ensuring that the plan unfolded just as intended.
For months, she remained beyond the reach of Sri Lankan law, hiding in a foreign land, watching from afar as the authorities pieced together the truth. A travel ban was imposed, her name was entered into international records, and the police waited.
Until now.
Her arrival at Bandaranaike International Airport wasn’t just the end of her escape—it was the beginning of justice.
What Comes Next?
Now, she sits in a police station in Seeduwa, awaiting her fate. Soon, she will stand before the Negombo Magistrate’s Court, where the weight of her past decisions will crash down upon her.
