Colombo Additional Magistrate Rajinda Jayasuriya yesterday (19) ordered the Criminal Investigation Department to exhume the body of Janashakti Group Director Dinesh Schaffter and provide necessary facilities to the five-member forensic panel to carry out their investigations.
The Magistrate made this order after considering the plea made by the five member Forensic Panel led by Senior Lecturer in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology of the Colombo University Professor Asela Mendis.
The Magistrate also ordered the CID to provide facilities for the forensic experts to carry out their investigation related to the body from the same place by bearing their expenses related to transport and food. The five-member Expert Forensic Committee investigating whether the death of Dinesh Schafter was a suicide or a murder had informed Court in writing on Thursday that based on the evidence obtained in relation to the investigations conducted so far, it has been decided to exhume the body and conduct a post-mortem examination.
After informing the Criminal Investigation Department in this regard, (19) a motion was filed in Court seeking permission to exhume the body. The Expert Panel led by Professor Asela Mendis was appointed by the Colombo Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya to ascertain the cause of Schafter’s death.
The Committee comprises Professor D.C.R. Perera of the Ruhuna University, Professor D. Fernando of the Peradeniya University, Senior Judicial Medical Officer of the Peradeniya Hospital S. Sivasubramaniam and Senior Judicial Medical Officer of the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital G.R.Ruwanuwara.