Five member forensic panel to investigate Schaffter death

The Colombo Additional Magistrate on Friday ordered the appointment of a five-member expert committee, comprising of Judicial Medical Officers, to prepare a report on the death of businessman, Dinesh Schaffter.

The Additional Magistrate wanted the committee to look into Schaffter’s post-mortem report after his family members said there were contradictions in the report. CID also told the court that the injuries found on Schaffter’s body hinted that he was not fatally strangled.

On Feb 14, the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court ordered the Colombo Chief Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) and the Government Analyst to preserve body parts of the deceased businessman.

Janashakthi PLC Director, Dinesh Schaffter,was found tied up in his car at the Borella cemetery on Dec 15, 2022. He was rushed to the Colombo National Hospital but passed away while undergoing treatment.

The CID investigators said they believed that Schaffter had left home around 2.06 pm and that the crime had taken place within half an hour of his departure.

A senior CID official said that further investigations were being conducted to ascertain whether anybody got into the car on the way or whether Schaffter went to the cemetery to meet someone.

Statements have been obtained from a large number of people but there has not been any breakthrough.