When Ratnapala entered the office, he learnt that a shooting incident had occurred at the Prime Minister’s Residence at Rosemead Place, Colombo. He then casually asked whether a Bhikku named Talduwe Somarama was residing there. Amarasiri also said “Until late into the night Buddharakkita Thera and Somarama Thera talk in hushed tones daily, inside this room. Ratnapala, who was a junior freelance reporter until then, was promoted to Lankadeepa editorial staff journalist with immediate effect. Bhikkhu Talduwe Somarama was sentenced to death, and the sentence was carried out in July 1962.