Court calls for progress report on CID probes into Swiss Embassy staffer case
September 8, 2020 01:02 pm
Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne today (08) ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to submit a report on the progress of the probes into the alleged abduction of Swiss Embassy staffer named Garnia Bannister Francis.
The relevant report is to be handed over to the Chief Magistrate on the 5th of November.
When the case was taken up this morning, the main suspect Garnia Bannister, who was released on bail several months ago, presented herself before courts.
Presenting their submissions, the CID officers told the court that 607-hour CCTV footage pertaining to the case has been referred to the Government Analyst for examination, while noting that it would take nearly 10 months to submit a complete report.
The Chief Magistrate then instructed the CID officers to investigate the parts of the footage that are of absolute importance to the probes.
Accordingly, CCTV footage between 2.30pm to 6.30pm on the 25th of November 2019, where the purported abduction took place, will be investigated, as per the Chief Magistrate’s orders.
The defence attorney representing the Swiss Embassy staffer in question requested the court to refer the CCTV footage pertaining to a week prior to the alleged incident, to the Government Analyst for inspection.
However, the Chief Magistrate ordered the defence to defend the request at the next hearing, along with relevant data.
