Court calls for transparent process when appointing five-member committee on Schaffter’s death
February 22, 2023 04:33 pm
Colombo Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya has stated that she expects a transparent process to be followed when suitable persons are being selected for the five-member committee due to be appointed to compile a report on the death of famed businessman Dinesh Schaffter.
Jayasuriya made this statement in open court this morning (22 Feb.), when the magisterial inquest pertaining to the matter was taken up and the relevant facts were presented.
The magistrate further ordered that the inquest in question be called in court next Monday, so as to report the progress on the appointment of the five-member committee.
On 17 February, Jayasuriya ordered the appointment of a five-member expert committee to compile a report on Schaffter’s death, and called for a list of senior Judicial Medical Officers (JMOs) from the Director General of Health Services, while the University Grants Commission (UGC) was also ordered to submit a list of senior university lecturers who specialise in forensic medicine.
Upon receiving the two lists, an experts’ committee will be appointed to probe the matter as contradictions have been observed in the post-mortem reports.
The Janashakthi PLC Director was found tied up in the driving seat of his car at the Borella cemetery on 15 December 2022, and was rushed to the ICU of the National Hospital in Colombo, where he passed away while undergoing treatment.
