The Kandy district in Sri Lanka has witnessed a concerning surge in crime over the past nine months, according to Deputy Inspector General of Police Mahinda Dissanayake. During a District Coordinating Committee meeting held at the Kandy District Secretariat Auditorium, Dissanayake revealed that 21 murders occurred in the district, with three taking place in September alone. Hacking was identified as the cause of death in six cases, while nine individuals were attacked with sticks and other weapons, and three were strangled. Moreover, the district has reported 242 suicides, with 89 cases involving hanging, 12 resulting from poison consumption, and four from self-immolation.
The meeting also disclosed statistics related to sexual violence, indicating that 12 rapes and 30 cases of serious sexual abuse involving women over 16 years old were reported in the district. Additionally, 70 rapes were recorded for women under the age of 16, with 37 cases attributed to boyfriends. The Deputy Inspector General expressed concern over young lovers eloping and marrying without parental consent, leading to numerous broken marriages.
The Kandy district has also grappled with a significant number of house break-ins, tallying 549 reported cases in the last nine months. Of these, 171 break-ins occurred through the main entrance, 184 through broken windows, 108 via the back door, and 34 involved perpetrators entering through the roof. Furthermore, there were 4,978 reported cases of land disputes and 5,660 cases of family disputes, with 1,975 attributed to drunkenness, 1,904 to mistrust and suspicion, and 640 to illiteracy.
The reported data underscores the growing concern for public safety and the need for increased security measures in the Kandy district.