Dinesh Schaffter’s death ruled a murder

Dinesh Schaffter 

• Expert committee claims death occurred due to external pressure exerted on businessman’s neck and face. 
• Magistrate rules a crime has taken place and instructs CID to apprehend suspects
• Case postponed to 20 March 2024 where CID will be expected to provide an update of probe conducted 

The Colombo Magistrates Court yesterday determined that the death of businessman Dinesh Schaffter had occurred due to external pressure exerted on his neck and face. 

Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya held that a criminal offence had occurred in this case and instructed the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department SSP Kavinda Piyasekara to apprehend the suspects involved and present them before the court.

The decision by the Magistrate was announced following a thorough review of the reports submitted during the investigation into the death and the report provided by the court-appointed five-member forensic expert committee tasked with examining the case to determine the cause of death. 

The Magistrate noted that the decision was based on the majority opinion of the expert committee where four out of five members held the same expert view as to the cause of death. 

Subsequently, the case was rescheduled for 20 March 2024, with the Magistrate instructing the CID to provide an update on the status of the ongoing investigations to the court on that date.

The former Janashakthi Group of Companies Director was found tied up in his car at the General Cemetery, in Borella on 15 December 2022 under suspicious circumstances, and died a day later while receiving treatment at the ICU of the National Hospital in Colombo.