A journalist’s experience of PM Bandaranaike’s assassination

On 25 Sept., 1959 OLankadeepa Journalist Ratnapala Vithana reported for duty at the newspaper’s editorial office, then owned by the old Times of Ceylon Group and located at the Times Building, Fort. The Chief Editor was renowned Journalist D.B. Dhanapala.

- JANAKA PERERA

As Ratnapala was entering the lift to go to the editorial office on the second floor two of his colleagues ran out of the building nearly knocking him down. One of them was Peramune Tilaka, who later served at Lake House in the 1970s when I was on the Ceylon Observer. At the time this happened he was News Editor, Lankadeepa.

When Ratnapala entered the office, he learnt that a shooting incident had occurred at the Prime Minister’s Residence at Rosemead Place, Colombo. The impact of this news was reflected on everyone's face in the office.

The phone rang constantly. Everyone was asking the same question. “Is the news true?” “Who was shot?” “Who fired the shots?”, etc. But no one had answers to these questions at that time. (As we know there were no mobile phones or TV or Internet at the time but only one radio broadcasting station, the State-owned Radio Ceylon)

The reporters who rushed to Rosemead Place heard that the victim of the shooting, Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, had been hospitalised.

Readers who made inquiries on the phone were told to look at the next morning’s newspapers. Editor Dhanapala who came to office, made inquiries from various contacts to get more information.

Meanwhile, Ratnapala contacted a good friend of his at the General Hospital (now National Hospital) and asked for an x-ray copy of the PM’s injuries for block printing purposes (old technique no longer in use) The friend agreed reluctantly saying, “My head will roll if you do not return it as quickly as possible.”

The x-ray picture clearly showed three revolver bullets had penetrated the PM’s stomach and ribs.

Hearing that major surgery was to be done to save the PM's life, thousands of people were reported to be coming to the hospital to donate blood.