On November 1, Colombo Additional Magistrate, Rajindra Jayasuriya, issued an order for the Police to arrest all suspects connected to the death of the prominent businessman Dinesh Schaffter, eliminating any doubts regarding the nature of his demise, which was initially thought by some to be a suicide.
While the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was entrusted with the responsibility of uncovering the truth behind the death, it has regrettably fallen short in this endeavour, sparking significant debate regarding the incident.
Initially, the CID initiated investigations with the assumption that the death was a murder, but later their suspicions shifted to it being a suicide.
Varying Judicial Medical reports also contributed to the confusion which was highlighted during proceedings by Senior Counsels Anuja Premaratne, PC and Saliya Peiris, PC representing the grieving family of Schaffter including his father prominent businessman and former national cricketer Chandra Schaffter.
The convincing arguments presented by the counsels compelled the Courts to seek an expert forensic report on the death, resulting in the appointment of a five-member expert committee for this purpose on February 27.
The committee included Forensic Medical Consultants including Prof. Dinesh Fernando, Asela Mendis, U.C.D. Perera, S.Sivasubramaniam and P.R. Ruwanpura.
The remains of Schaffter were exhumed as the committee commenced its investigations. Their expert report was submitted to the Court on November 1, which determined that the death of businessman Dinesh Schaffter had occurred due to external pressure exerted on his neck and face thus leading to a verdict of premeditated murder.
Similar signs of pressure on his neck area were found in the initial two post-mortem reports. The next report by the same JMO claimed to have found the presence of cyanide in the businessman’s remains. It was during this time the CID shifted its focus on investigating the death as a suicide while the aggrieved family maintained that it was a well-executed killing.
However, the expert report has now concluded that the death occurred at the hands of a third party, as evidenced by forensic evidence. According to Prof. Mendis who led the committee the main conundrum was if the death had occurred due to strangulation or cyanide poisoning. He noted in the report that the initial tests carried out on Schaffter gave no hint of cyanide poisoning and therefore suspected his heart had not stopped when admitted to the hospital due to an injection of cyanide.
The Prof. also said that in contrast, the first JMO report had noted a presence of cyanide in the food consumed by him prior to his death.
This led to the committee requiring the remains of the businessman to be exhumed which was carried out on May 18 in Borella. According to the report, the committee was able to find ligature marks which hinted at an external pressure being exerted on his neck and face area. It also noted the cyanide found in his body was less than the necessary dose to contribute to death.
The report also noted that the evidence did not suggest suicide, as it was difficult to prove that Schaffter had in fact strangled himself.
With the investigation now focusing on murder, it is likely that Nilam, a labourer at the Borella General Cemetery, will emerge as the primary witness in the probe.
Nilam had accompanied Schaffter to the hospital after he was found in his car on the day of the incident. In his statement to the Police, Nilam said that at the time, he saw a tall man near Schaffter’s car, and this individual had quickly started walking toward the crematorium. He also told the Police there was a wire wrapped around Schaffter’s neck when he was found. However, the Police have yet to trace this individual seen by Nilam and identify him despite the lapse of 10 months.
Instead, the Police continued to present evidence to prove that Schaffter had in fact died by suicide. For example, the Police said a cable similar to the one found around Schaffter was seen on the passenger side of his car in CCTV images captured along the route to Borella and it was also similar to a TV cable found at his home.
They also said that cable ties similar to those found around his wrists were also found in an office room at his residence. The CID painted Schaffter as a person who had given up on life and had withdrawn from business activities due to various frustrations.
The expert committee now says there was third-party DNA on the cable ties around Schaffter’s wrists and it also discovered a scratch over his left eye. With the court now instructing the CID to apprehend the murder suspects, the sleuths will now likely face the daunting task of initially identifying the person seen by workers near Schaffter’s car on that fateful day.
Translated by Maneshka Borham
