• Further inquiry was put off for October 31  

By T. Farook Thajudeen   

Colombo Magistrate Rajindra Jayasooriya yesterday allowed the kith and kin of the late leading businessman Dinesh Shaffter to bury his remains in their family burial grounds at Jawatte, Colombo 5.  

At the onset of the Magisterial inquiry before Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya Counsel Anuja Premaratna PC, Counsel Mohan Balendran appearing with Attorney-at-Law Vinoj Ratnayake for the aggrieved family of Mr. Shaffter filed affidavits from the family members of Mr.Shaffter in court and moved court to allow the family of Mr. Shaffter to cremate the remains.   

However the Magistrate, observing that the report of the special panel of doctors appointed to conduct the postmortem inquiry not being yet ready, ordered the body to be buried instead of cremating it.   

The CID who conducted investigations did not object and further inquiry was put off for October 31.  
Thereafter the family of late Shaffter agreed to bury the body at their family burial grounds.  

Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya had earlier ordered the CID to hand over the remains of the late businessman to his family.  

Magistrate Jayasuriya had appointed an expert committee, headed by Prof. Asela Mendis, to conduct a postmortem inquiry and to submit a report.  

The remains of Schaffter were exhumed on May 25, 2023, under judicial supervision of the Colombo Magistrate’s Court.