Dark Tales from the 'Thotums'* - II

 Bernard vanCuylenberg 

In 1941 the Kandy district was rocked by one of the most brutal murders which belied the bucolic charm of mountains, valleys, hills and dales, and life in those salubrious climes : the murder of Mr. George Pope, the Manager of Stellenberg Group, Pupuressa. 

 Mr. Pope was ever the strict disciplinarian and as tough as they come. He managed the estate with an iron hand, and woe betide anybody who stepped out of line. During this period, trade unions were formed on many plantations, and one day a group of workers met him and requested permission to form a trade union on Stellenberg. Not only was their request refused, but they were soundly berated and threatened with dire consequences as far as their employment on the estate was concerned, if they persisted with this demand. Dismayed at the manner of the refusal to what seemed to them a reasonable request and angered by the manner in which they were addressed, the workers held the matter in abeyance, and for a while life on Stellenberg went on.

Mr. Pope used to visit his neighbor, the Manager of Le Vallon Group, Pupuressa, at least twice a month for dinner. He had issued standing instructions that whenever he returned to the estate late at night, the tea maker on night duty was to telephone his bungalow and inform the bungalow cook to keep the garage doors open as soon as he crossed the factory.

On the night in question, Mr. Pope went over for the usual dinner rendezvous and returned very late. Driving along the road to his bungalow, a fair distance from the factory, the headlights of his car picked out some obstruction on the road which made it impossible for him to pass. It turned out to be the trunk of a tree, and if – there's always an IF in cases like this – he had fine tuned his antenna it would have told him that something was not quite right.

Call it bravery or foolhardiness, but he stopped the car and went up to the tree trunk. He attempted to dislodge it just enough to give him room to pass. The workers who had laid the trap were hiding in the tea bushes, armed with pruning knives. No sooner did he reach the trunk and attempt to move it than they attacked him  -in a fury of pent up anger with the pruning knives - holding nothing back.

On that dark lonely road, in the dead of night, he was literally hacked to pieces not by one, but by six men who fled the scene having committed this dastardly deed. George Pope lay on that road of death, the flesh ripped from his body, his life blood slowly draining away.

Meanwhile the bungalow cook, anxious that 'The Master' had still not returned as it was now almost 1.00 am, telephoned the factory and expressed his concern to the tea maker, Mr. Ludowyke. Alarmed at this phone call, Mr. Ludowyke organized a band of workers and armed with "pandans" (torches) to light their way, went along the road leading to the Bungalow from the Factory. Imagine their horror at finding Mr. Pope in a pool of blood breathing his last. The workers cleared the road and Mr. Ludowyke drove the car to the factory, the dying Mr. Pope by his side. He summoned the dispenser and then arranged for the wounded man to be taken to hospital  - to no avail. Having tenuously clung to life, Mr. Pope breathed his last in a scene straight out of hell.

Events took a quick turn after this. The police were informed. They came to Stellenberg with all speed and in the early hours of the morning commenced their inquiries. Fate lent them a helping hand almost immediately because at the scene of the murder they found a door key to a line room. At muster that morning, six workers were missing and could not be found anywhere, including the would-be union leader, Ramasamy Weeraswamy.

Pieces of the jigsaw began falling into place when the key found at the scene fitted the door to his line room. He and the other five, now the chief suspects, had absconded. The police then threw all their resources into a search which encompassed most of the plantations in the area and before long, one by one, the five suspects were arrested – except for the union leader. He evaded the law for almost five months and seemed to have vanished.

The Police had by then printed 'wanted' posters of the man for distribution, which were circulated as far as Kandy.

There is a lesson to be learned here. Never take anything or anybody for granted, least of all the humble barber with his scissors, comb and machine in his dingy saloon, unlike the fancy hairdressing saloons and boutiques of today. One such barber among many ran a small barber shop in Kandy with his assistant. One morning a scruffy looking character sauntered in looking the worse for wear requesting a haircut and shave. His unkempt hair and beard did not concern the barber for that was his trade. What he noted was the filthy state of the man’s shirt and sarong. He proceeded with the shave first, and then began the haircut. And this is where Alfred Hitchcock could depict what followed with his sense of the dramatic, like a scene in one of his classic movies, leaving the viewers biting their nails, and digging into their arm rests, in jaw dropping suspense.

 As he began cutting this customer’s hair, the face before him in the mirror accelerated his heartbeat as if he was walking a treadmill. Because, in the drawer of his little table at the back of the saloon there was a poster of the 'Wanted' man handed out by the police some time ago.  At the time of distribution, the suspect’s hair was not long and it resembled the face in the mirror before him.

Full credit to Captain Cool for not flinching or losing his nerve at this discovery. Politely telling his unsuspecting client that he had to answer a call of nature, he asked his assistant to continue where he had left off, went to his room, checked the poster, and having scrutinized it once more went to the tailors shop next door and used their telephone to inform the police. Five heavily armed constables led by an Inspector made their way to the saloon, and the wanted man – the union leader, Ramasamy Weeraswamy –surrendered meekly, realizing that escape was impossible this time.

The long search of five months had ended. The case was heard by one of the finest Judges of the time, Justice Soertsz. Five of the accused, the union leader included, were sentenced to be hanged and kept their date with the hangman. The other accused was sentenced to ten years imprisonment when it was conclusively proved that he had no direct link to the murder but had aided and abetted the accused in plotting Mr. Pope’s murder.

*'Thotum'  - Estate 

Meet the writer: Bernard VanCuylenberg

My late Dad was a tea planter...hence memories of the tea plantations are precious to me. My memories of childhood, growing up in the salubrious climate of the tea country are very dear to me, because my brother, sister and I had parents who were angels.

Prior to migrating to Australia my working background was in the field of tourism and hospitality.

In Australia I worked for seventeen years as an Administrative Officer in the Victoria Police Department, and retired in 1999. I played lead and rhythm guitarin two bands ( in Sri Lanka, and in Australia). I loved the Sitar and always hoped I could learn it one day. Ravi Shankar was my idol.    

Is this your first visit here? Welcome to Indian Chai Stories! 
 
Do you have a chai story of your own to share? Send it to me here, please : indianchaistories@gmail.com. My name is Gowri Mohanakrishnan and I'm a tea planter's wife. I started this blog because one of the things that I wouldn't want us to lose in a fast changing world is the tea story - a story always told with great seriousness, no matter how funny - always true (always), maybe a tall tale, long, or short, impossible, scary, funny or exciting but never dull. You will find yourself transported to another world!
 
Happy reading! Cheers to the spirit of Indian Tea!
ADD THIS LINK TO YOUR FAVOURITES : https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/Indian Chai Stories