Rape victim's body found

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
M. Thirunavukarasu, the Mallakam Magistrate, pronounced on Wednesday that Nagalingam Bavany (48) had been murdered in her home, possibly after being raped, said sources in Jaffna.

The body of the woman, who was estranged from her husband and living alone in Thirunelvely, in the suburbs of Jaffna Town, was decomposing when it was found on July 6, by a soldier of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) from a nearby military camp.

She had died of blow she had received on her head. K. Sivarasa, a Grama Seveka, in his evidence said that he had been one of the first to visit the scene of the crime. He said the body was naked waist down.

It transpired from his evidence that judging from the positioning of her legs she could have been raped.

A forensic examination was not possible because the body was in an advanced state of decomposition. Soldier Rana Mudiyansalage Ariyasena of the nearby camp stated in his evidence that he had broken into the house after he had got a foul odour of decaying flesh.

There was no evidence of robbery being the motive because jewellery, a TV receiver and a VCR had all been left untouched.