Trinco beach human skeletal remains sent to JMO

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 February 2003, 17:44 GMT]
The Trincomalee Magistrate and Additional District Judge Mr.S.Thiagendran Monday ordered the human skeletal remains recovered from the sea beach of the east port town last Wednesday and Thursday and soil samples of the site to be sent to Colombo Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) for full report. The Judge further returned an open verdict as no evidence was produced in court regarding the identity of human skeletal remains, legal sources said.

The Judge Mr.S.Thiagendran allowed the application made by the Trincomalee Police that human skeletal remains and soil collected from the beach to be sent to the Colombo Judicial Medical Officer to determine whether the skeletal remains belonged to human beings, and if so details of age, sex, nature of death and if killed how they were killed.

The inquiry into the exhumation of human skeletal remains held Monday in the Trincomalee magistrate's court. Sergeant Gunapala of Trincomalee Police led the evidence of police officer Hewathage Udayakumara.

SI Udayakumara said in evidence the site where the human skeletal remains were recovered is a public place and where the people of Trincomalee town come to enjoy the beach. The site where the two graves were located in the beach is close to main entrance of the Fort Frederick and an abandoned Buddhist pansala. There is no information any cemetery was present in the said area. He did not know how human skeletal remains were brought and buried in the beach.

Human skeletal remains were recovered when labourers of the Trincomalee Urban Council constructed a detention wall in beach preventing sea erosion, two council labourers told court.