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I saw the injured persons being removed in carts.
After the crowd had dispersed I remained in the mosque premises. I saw Abubucker; he was dead. I saw Kunji Bawa Abdul Asiz-I saw him that day. I saw Abdulla Nattichchan. I did not see them injured, I saw them being removed to hospital. They died on the way to hospital. I did not see Idroos Lebbe Marikar Mohammadu Ibrahim. I am still in hospital. I cannot use my arm.
Cross-examined by Mr. de Kretser: I am related to Abubucker, the deceased. He was not along with me. Do not know from where he came I recovered consciousness just as he was struck. I was taken away by the seventh accused to a distance, as stones were falling on me. He took me outside the mosque garden, and asked me to go and stay far. I saw only one blow given by the fifth accused-knew that I was struck twice.
I fell on my face-no, fell to a side. A large crowd of people moved about the place. There was a good deal of confusion and noise. The mosque is close to the market-place, and there are a large number of people living there-boutique keepers. Round the mosque there are three boutiques. All the boutiques and buildings there are owned by the Moors. The eighth accused lives near the mosque.
Cross-examined by the first accused: I heard the explosions in the compound of the mosque.
Police Constable 1566, Alvis, affd.
On the 4th of June I was at Akuressa. I received a letter from the
The
S.H.O. and went to Godapitiya. I was accompanied by Police Constable James. I left the police station at 1.40 p.m. I got to Godapitiya at about 2.20. I met the S.H.O. at Godapitiya-met him near the mosque found a crowd when I got there at the mosque. When I went there the crowd was near the school- room. I spoke to the crowd, and asked them to disperse-they did not disperse. I found the crowd in a state of rioting, from their appearance-found the crowd excited. The crowd appeared to have been drinking they smelt liquor. When the disturbance had partly taken place I saw the S.H.O. When the crowd had assembled in the schoolroom-the crowd came up before I saw the S.H.O. in the mosque-I saw these persons in the crowd that came up to the mosque (points out the first, second, ninth eleventh, seventeenth, third, fifth, eighth, tenth, twelfth, sixteenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth accused). crowd shouted and pelted stones at the mosque, at a distance of twenty or thirty fathoms. The crowd went up to the mosque premises and assaulted the Moors. Some of the Moors were inside and two or three came up in front. When the crowd came up the Moors did nothing-they stayed on, and the Sinhalese went up to them and assaulted those that were in front." Some of them who were in the mosque ran away. The crowd used swords, guns, alavangoes, and clubs. After the Moors had been assaulted and had run away the mosque was broken with crowbars, and coco-nut trees were cut down on to the roof. I can point out the people who did this. Those are the people whom I have pointed out-they all joined in it-they set fire to the mosque by pouring oil-they used dynamite. I saw a man throwing dynamite, but I do not see him here. I did not see any of these accused throwing dynamite After the mosque was attacked and damaged, the crowd broke the boutiques and houses-the same crowd. After the crowd had dispersed from the mosque premises I found injured persons--found one dead at the time and the rest were injured-three persons injured-badly injured. I was present when they were put into carts-did not accompany the carts a police officer accompanied the carts. I do not see any of the persons here who injured the Moormen.
Cross-examined by Mr. de Kretser: I made a statement to the S.H.O., who recorded it. That was about five days after the occurrence. On that day the injured people could not have made any statement. Abdul Rahiman made a state- ment when we were dressing his wound-he said that Mendis hit him. Neither I nor the S.H.O. recorded it. The first thing I saw was the crowd that had gathered there nobody was preaching there on temperance. I saw the first accused; he had a crowbar in his hand. The second accused had a sword in his hand. I do not know whether they used it in breaking the building. The men who cut down the trees are not here. I saw a man called Suriya Bandara, who used the dynamite: he is not one of the accused here. I mentioned that to the S.H.O. I know the four- teenth accused, Janis. I do not know whether he was not in the village that day. I did not see him at the spot. I know the eighth accused, saw him removing things from his boutique, saw him do nothing else.
but
The crowd that met at Goda-
from the people to
several directions.
.disperse.
I Ι
Cross-examined by Mr. Jayewickreme:
from Akuressa, pitiya was not only never said that two native doctors warned
I have known the nineteenth the sixteenth accused there. only saw accused for some time; do not know his name; he is a man of Akuressa. I do not At know whether I have seen him at Akuressa; do not know where his home is. the time when I was taken to identify he was not arrested. The nineteenth accused was arrested only recently, on the 25th of July. Adjoining the Moorish boutiques are Moorish houses; those boutiques were set on fire.
Cross-examined by the second accused: I am not telling the Court that I saw a sword in the second accused's hand at the instance of the Inspector.
Cross-examined by the ninth accused: I am a single man. I take my meals at several eating-houses. I have taken my meals from the contractor who supplies I have meals to the police. There are two girls there; they work on the estate.
I do not know whether these women were seen you accompany the women to work. fined by you. I am not keeping Carlina as my mistress. There was a case a short I do not time ago for assaulting me. I was not assaulted because of the women. know the charge preferred against me.
Cross-examined by the eleventh accused: I did not take a bottle of brandy from you during the Sinhalese New Year. I did not threaten you when you refused. You are not dealing in brandy.
Cross-examined by Court: When the crowd was breaking the mosque I tried I know the accused I to stop. I have been at Godapitiya for about three years. have pointed out-know the others as well. There is one man who I do not know— the fourth accused-the rest I know. I cannot make a mistake about them. The crowd was very noisy. It is not possible for me to make a mistake. I cannot say the people were all drunk. Those who were arrested were drunk, they were able to walk, they were able to speak, they were not very drunk and incapable, they knew what they were doing.
Don Charles Gunasekera, affd.
I am the police officer of Honduwa. On the 4th of June last I and several other police officers received instructions to proceed to Godapitiya. I got to Goda- pitiya at about 3.0 o'clock. When I got there the mosque had been broken, and the boutiques had been broken and set on fire-the houses were still on fire. As we went one of the pillars fell; the crowd was there--about 1,800 or 2,000 people. I can tell who the people are who took part. Hendrick Appuhamy was addressing the He is the first crowd. He said: "After breaking all this come on this side.” accused. At the time when they were breaking the mosque he had a crowbar. These are the people I saw there actually taking part (points out the second, ninth, eleventh, seventeenth, fifth-the seventh was standing on the road, he was about twenty or thirty fathoms this side of the crowd-the eighth accused was in his not quite boutique, inside his boutique-a man like the tenth accused came, am sure, he is the brother of the Vidane Arachchi of Akuressa; I saw him going along the road; he had blood on his banian-the twelfth accused, he is the barber-the eighteenth accused, nineteenth accused). Except the seventh, eighth, and tenth, the others were there. The ninth accused had a gun, the second had a sword, the eighteenth had a club. I did not tell either the S.H.O. or the Special Commissioner that the seventh accused was twenty or thirty fathoms away.
When
Mr. Archibald examined me I was asked to point out the accused. I did not then tell Mr. Archibald that the seventh accused was there but did not take part in the rioting.
Cross-examined by Mr. de Kretser: I made my statement to the Special Com- missioner. That statement was read out to me by Mr. Archibald through the I medium of interpretation. I then was asked to identify the accused in jail. know the fifth accused-have known him for twelve or fifteen years-never men- tioned his name to the S.H.O. I mentioned the names of those who were there.
I know Cross-examined by the first accused: I know the first accused well.
He had a where he lives he lives about two-and-a-half miles from the mosque. crowbar in his hand-it was about two-and-a-half cubits.
Cross-examined by the second accused: I saw the second accused close to the mesque-about ten or fifteen fathoms, near the mosque he was going to the boutique. I do not know whether the second accused gave evidence against my
kister.
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