I read with interest, the well written article titled Deep throat and the Sri Lankan CID written by Gamini Gunewardane, Retired Senior DIG who was attached to the CID as a Superintendent in 1970.

This article appeared in The Island of Feb. 10.

In the seventies, the common man called all exchange control cases Padjet Road cases, may be because the suspects were held at Padjet Road bungalows more or less opposite Sirimavo Bandaranaike play grounds.

No. C 61 referred to by Mr. G. G. was the bungalow earlier occupied by S. A. Dissanayake, when he was the DIG CID, before he stepped onto the pedestal of Inspector General of Police. This bungalow was posh all right.

The ‘big man’ referred to in this article by the writer, whose daughter’s wedding was attested by J. R. Jayewardene and Mrs. Sirima Bandaranaike, the Leader of the Opposition, resided at Deenagoda, Beruwala.

Deenagoda was a village full of Moors and with the influx of gem money, they changed the name from Deenagoda to China Fort, Beruwala.

In the early nineteen sixties, officer-in-charge of Aluthgama police had been a Burgher gentleman named Van Langenberg, who migrated to Australia a little later in search of greener pastures.

Inspector Van Langenberg had raided a gambling den in 1960 in ‘Kande-Vihara’ road and had arrested eight suspects for gambling and had filed plaint against all of them in the Rural Courts at Payagala and each of them bad been fined Rs. 2.50. After they pleaded guilty one of them had been named the ‘big man’ - referred to by Gamini Gunawardane in his article.

The above said gambling case was reflected in the Aluthgama Police Minor Offence Register under MDR 71/60.