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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
ITCO. 882/10
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE. LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH--NOT TO
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I cannot.
Jayawickreme, of Gampola. He has no property. He lives in the town. say whether he is influential. The tenth accused is a contractor, and is ex-Registrar of Births and Deaths, and is a wealthy man. I do not know personally what the eleventh accused is. He has no lands and has no influence. The twelfth accused is also of Gampola. I think he belongs to the ordinary coolie class. The thirteenth I do not know about his occupation. accused lives about two miles from the town.
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He is also a member of the Sama- He will inherit some property from his father. gama of which the seventh accused is president. I cannot say whether he is a man of influence. The fourteenth accused is a boutique keeper in Gampola town.
He has not much influence. The fifteenth cannot say whether he is wealthy. accused, too, has no property. He lives about four miles from Gampola. He has 'A," issued by the seventh accused, no influence. I produce a notice marked forming the Gampola Trading Company.
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To President: The meeting with Father Gunatilleke was in the Roman Catholic School. The Sinhalese had a conference, the upshot of which was that they would give up their procession. They suggested that I should speak to the Moors when they had their procession on a future occasion, and fix it up with them. After the Sinhalese left the place we got the Moors into the school and spoke to them, and told them they ought to have some consideration and allow one day for the procession to pass along. They said if I settled this they would make no objection at another
time.
Police Sergeant Sandanayaka, No. 2059.
I am a Sinhalese Christian. On the day of the riots a buggy cart came into Gampola about 3.30 p.m. It was driven by Bawa Adjie, and the first and eighth accused were in it. The Wesak festivities were over by the 29th May. The licence The pro- for the perahera to be held was dropped that evening about 4.30 o'clock. cession was to have gone along Kadugannawa road, across the second junction, Ambegamuwa road, and then to the railway road by the first junction. The route for which the licence was granted was not past the mosque opposite the Roman Catholic Church. About 10.0 p.m. on the 20th May I saw the first accused on the road opposite his house. He had about thirty or forty people, carters and such like, and was giving them paper lanterns, sticks, and candles. I saw the twelfth, ninth, and eleventh accused in the crowd. They were all paraded two by two. It was not a disorderly crowd. The eleventh and twelfth accused were lined up with the others. The ninth accused was with the first accused. The twelfth accused had a stick, which was given by the first accused. The first accused marched them along the Kandy road towards a pansala, and I lost sight of them. They were hooting, cries That was not of "Sadhu," and shouts of “ha!" "hoo!" etc. They were disorderly.
a licensed procession. This was about 10.0 p.m., and I saw them coming back about 10.30 p.m., and they marched towards Mahara, where the fifth accused lives, and I lost sight of them again. Later I saw the first accused returning alone to his house about 11.30 p.m. There was no particular disturbance that day. On the 30th May I was in plain clothes, out about 4.30 or 5.0 p.m. At the junction I saw a crowd of I saw the seventh about thirty Sinhalese men. They were not armed at the time. accused between 5.0 and 5.30 p.m. at the junction, asking the Sinhalese men to go to the church. I saw them going out of their boutiques. About twenty minutes later I saw the first accused at the junction. He was going along towards Ambegamuwa He came from the direction of his road. I saw the third accused just after that. house, pushing a motor-cycle along. He mounted it and went towards Sinhapitiya, across the bridge. About fifteen minutes after I saw the sixth accused. He came from the Ambegamuwa road, got to the junction, and turned off to the Kandy road, About five minutes later I saw the passing along. It was then about 5.45 p.m. tenth accused coming along the railway station road to the main junction, past Pena At the junction I Muna's boutique. He was with about forty Sinhalese men. spoke to him. I asked him why he was bringing these people. They were not town people but all outsiders He gave me no reply. He and the people turned to the Ambegamuwa road. About 6.15 or 6.30 p.m. I saw the eleventh accused between this particular junction and Costa's shop. There was a crowd of Sinhalese in the road at the time. The eleventh accused was in the crowd. He was disorderly, and said that they should take out the guts of the Moors." He was saying that in general to the people. As the other Sergeant, Pakir Ali, was there. I went away. Pakir Ali is a Malay and not a Moor I went to close the tavern, expecting a dis- turbance. There were restless crowds and a deal of unrest. After closing the
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tavern I was coming back to the junction, and was at the railway culvert. There was pelting of stones then. There was a crowd of about 500 Sinhalese in the street. That was about 6.30 p.m., and I saw the crowd pelting stones at the Moor boutiques in the road. I went through the crowd and passed the junction to go to the police station, when I met the fifth accused between the police station and the house of the first accused. He was coming from the direction of the bridge, from the direction of Mahara, with about fifty Sinhalese. Mahara is the place where the fifth accused lives. The crowd was armed with clubs and sticks, and were marching into town, where the riot had already started. I spoke to the fifth accused and told him not to take the men into the town. He made no reply, but went with them towards the junction. I turned back and followed them. They got to the junction, where Ahamado Saibo's shop is. It has an iron store farther away from the junction than main shop, but all under the same roof. The fifth accused marched the crowd near Ahamado Saibo's shop, and I saw them enter it. I heard the planks being broken and saw them enter. The fifth accused was there moving about. They broke into the shop and began looting. Some of the goods were burnt on the road and some carried away.
They similarly broke into the store, and some of the goods were heaped on the road and burnt and some carried away. There was already a crowd there. These people joined forces with a large crowd already there. There were about 200 Sinhalese, armed. They went up the road towards Kandy, damaging the shops. Then I sent for the Magistrate, Mr. Walters. It was then about 7.0 o'clock. The Magistrate came, and, with Pakir Ali and myself, tried to dis- perse the crowd, but could not. I saw the ninth accused when the Magistrate was there. He came to the junction from the direction of the first accused's house alone and disappeared. He saw us, and he raised his hand and told the people to stop, but did not wait, and went away. I then went to the police station with the Magistrate. The rioting was still going on. The Magistrate got together some constables with arms, and we returned to the junction. The crowd was still riotous, and we could not disperse them. A little beyond Costa's shop I saw the tenth accused. He was in an armed crowd which was breaking Moorish boutiques, and was directing them. He stretched out his hand towards the mosque, and the crowd then went towards the mosque, attacking boutiques on the way. They attacked Savul Hamidu's boutique, and the tenth accused was in the crowd which damaged it. I then left for the police station. It was about 8.0 o'clock. The Magistrate and some policemen and I went back to the junction. The crowd was then attacking I heard an explosion the mosque, breaking the walls. I saw a man with an axe. like that made by dynamite. The mosque was wrecked, the walls being blown out. At that time I saw the eighth accused in the armed crowd. Makati's house, next to the mosque, had already been smashed up. On our arrival Makati at once pointed out the eighth accused and charged him with wrecking the mosque. As soon as the eighth accused saw us he left the crowd. I saw a ladder against the wall of the mosque. There was a Sinhalese man on it breaking the wall with something. After that we returned to the station. We were a small force, and could not cope with the crowd. We reached the station about 10.0 o'clock. After that I saw the first accused near the police station, coming from the direction of Mahara, with about eighty or a hundred armed Sinhalese. He was bringing the men in. It was then about 11.30 o'clock. We charged that crowd with our sword bayonets. and they ran away towards the bridge. We allowed the first accused to pass us and enter his We did not question him. I saw the twelfth accused about 12.0 o'clock on the pavement opposite the house of the first accused, near his gate. There was a crowd of about sixty armed Sinhalese in a semicircle in the compound of the first The twelfth accused was accused, who was seated on an easy chair facing them. in the crowd, armed with a club. As I got on to the steps of the gate the twelfth accused came towards me. I seized him, snatched the club, and drove him away. The Magistrate was with me and dispersed the rest of the crowd. The first accused remained in his verandah. Magistrate told first accused if he saw him again with men he would have him locked up. It was then about 12.30 o'clock. We then went towards the mosque, and on our return, near Costa's shop, saw a gang of about thirty-six armed Sinhalese and the fourteenth accused, who was armed, in that crowd. They were going toward the mosque. We drove them with the bayonets. The I seized the fourteenth accused, snatched his club, and drove him away. fifteenth accused was arrested about 7.30 p.m. that day by the Magistrate near
house.
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