AG’s Dept appoints expert panel to conduct post-mortem on dead inmates

By Asiri Fernando

The Attorney General’s (AG) Department yesterday made an application at the Magistrate’s Court for the appointment of a four-member panel of experts to conduct the post-mortem on the deceased inmates from the Mahara Prison unrest. 

The move comes after grieving family members and rights activists called on the Government not to cremate the deceased without a post-mortem. 

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) wrote to the Ragama Hospital, where the remains of the eleven inmates are being kept, requesting that the bodies be preserved in a manner compatible with health requirements and not be cremated or destroyed in any other way until the autopsy proceedings in relation to their death was concluded.

However, representing the Police, State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne had informed the Court that there was a risk of COVID-19 spreading in Ragama Hospital as a result of the bodies being kept there; eight of the eleven deceased have tested positive for COVID-19. Jayaratne noted that the remains should be cremated following the post-mortem in line with the health regulations. 

The four-member committee is made up of three Senior Judicial Medical Officers and a ballistic expert from the Government Analyst’s Department, Jayaratne said. 

According to Jayaratne, Police Spokesperson DIG Ajith Rohana had written to the AG on 6 December, requesting representation by the AGs Department at the Magistrate’s Court for the case filed regarding the Mahara Prison unrest.

The AG’s Department strongly objected to the counsel for the aggrieved party requesting for an additional doctor from a university be appointed to the committee, stressing that nominations for the committee were made by the Director General of Health Services and the Government Analysts Department. The Court order is expected today (9 December). 

However, due to the need to expedite the process, the AG’s Department had pointed out that if the court issues an order, a request can be forwarded to the President of the College of Forensic Pathologists of Sri Lanka to also make a nomination to the committee of experts.

Police claim the unrest at Mahara Prison was caused as a result of an attempted jailbreak. The resulting violence, they say, led to 107 persons being injured, including two prison officers, and caused the deaths of 11 inmates. 

The Criminal Investigation Division (CID), which has launched an investigation to the incident has recorded statements from nearly 160 individuals, including prison officers, doctors, medical staff and inmates, DIG Rohana said. A forensic investigation of the crime scene and a property damage assessment is also being conducted by the 25 strong CID team. 

“We have identified seven of the 11 deceased. We have used ‘facial recognition,’ DNA and fingerprint analysis to identify them. Hair, blood, fingerprint and DNA samples of the 11 have been collected by senior judicial medical officer Handun Wijewardena. We are awaiting a court order regarding the remains, which will be kept securely at the Ragama Teaching Hospital until the courts decide what to do with them,” DIG Rohana added.