News
Chemmani grave site: 90 skeletons discovered so far as excavation picks up to beat the monsoon
View(s):By S. Rubatheesan
On Friday, at least two fresh full skeleton sets were identified by the team led by Prof Raj Somadeva, and assisted by Jaffna University students, the crime unit of Jaffna police, and Judicial Medical Officer Dr S. Piranavan under the directive of the Jaffna Magistrate Courts.
The excavation activities are being carried out at two sites marked as ‘Site 1’and ‘Site 2’ throughout this week. At Site 2, a skeleton set suspected to be an infant along with objects such as a feeding bottle, socks, and a bangle were recovered this week.
The second phase of the recent excavation process began on July 21. During the first phase, 81 skeletons were exhumed along with objects marked as evidence and are currently placed under judicial custody.
Meanwhile, a human remains set, identified at Site 2 was sealed on Friday after it was confirmed through medical examinations that the body was buried legally. It was also confirmed that the body was subjected to a postmortem examination in the past as well. The body was sealed on a directive by Jaffna Magistrate A. Aanantharaja.
Attorney at Law V. S. Niranjan, who represented families of enforced disappeared persons and who is part of the team of lawyers who is monitoring the ongoing excavation, said that adjacent areas in the cemetery were cleared on Friday to check whether more human skeletons are buried.
Investigations underway
“We noticed that a nearby land area was cleared in order to use the scanners to check whether more bodies are buried within the premises,” he said.
Meanwhile, following the directive by the Court, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) took over the investigations at the grave site from Jaffna police from this week onwards.
A protest, organised by both the relatives of enforced disappeared persons and civil society communities took place in Chemmani and all five districts in the North yesterday (26) demanding authorities to ensure that justice prevails and truth is revealed about the mass grave site.
| Muthur courts orders excavation activities after human remains discovered The Muthur Magistrate Courts has called for reports from both the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) and the Department of Archeology over the incident of human remains found during landmine clearing activity in Sampur Muthur. They have been instructed to submit reports in Court by Wednesday, July 30. Acting Magistrate Judge H.M. Fowzan visited the site where human remains were found to conduct magisterial inquiries. He directed relevant authorities to begin excavation activities to recover the human remains. The Department of Archaeology was also directed to verify whether the location was used as a cemetery in the past. Officials from the Police crime unit and the Department of Government Analysts took part in the preliminary investigations conducted by the Magistrate on Wednesday (23). The human remains were found by a group of landmine clearing workers on Sunday July 20. | |
The best way to say that you found the home of your dreams is by finding it on Hitad.lk. We have listings for apartments for sale or rent in Sri Lanka, no matter what locale you're looking for! Whether you live in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and more - we've got them all!