Phone analysis holds up probe in to Schaffter’s murder

ECONOMYNEXT –Complex telephone data analysis was taking more time than originally expected as criminal investigators attempted to solve the murder of business executive Dinesh Schaffter at the General cemetery Kanatte last week.

Schaffter, 51, was found strangled in the driving seat of his Toyota on December 15 evening. The car has been subjected to forensic tests along with data from mobile phone base stations in the area to establish those who were in the vicinity at the time.

“We have to analyse all the phone numbers that were connected to base stations in the area on December 15,” a top investigator said. “We are right now in the process of screening all the phones to eliminate suspects and prepare a short list of those who may have been involved.”

The complex task of tracking base station data could take weeks, the officer said adding that the January 2009 killing of Lasantha Wickrematunge was pinned on a unit of the military intelligence following a meticulous phone analysis done with the help of US investigators.The

technical costs of the analysis was estimated at about 42 million rupees at the time.Police have already interviewed over 50 people in connection with Schaffter’s murder, but the investigators were yet to make a breakthrough.

“There are several lines of investigation. We are trying to establish a credible motive. Both his business and social contacts are being looked into. Investigators are keeping an open mind,” the officer said earlier this week.

However, former cricket commentator Brian Thomas has been barred from travelling abroad as detectives may need to interview him again over his business dealings with Schaffter.

Evidence from Thomas suggests that Schaffter requested a meeting, but he declined. Thomas had surrendered his mobile devices to the CID.In 2019, Schaffter had complained that the former cricket commentator had defrauded him of over 140 million rupees and a case is pending.