Mannar Magistrate orders forensic report on skeletal remains

By Dinasena Ratugamage-June 30, 2019, 10:24 pm 

A fresh controversy has arisen over the Mannar mass grave site following a magisterial order that experts who carried out excavations provide a forensic report on the skeletons they had dug up before July 31.

Prof. Raj Somadeva of Kelaniya University confirmed that the court had issued the order, but there were issues with carbon dating reports issued by a Florida lab on the samples sent from the Mannar mass grave site.

Prof. Somadeva said that they had taken preliminary steps to prepare the forensic report. "We will also look at the non-skeletal items that were found at the site and to produce a report thereon as well. We can determine the age of these items, too."

Three hundred and thirty five skeletons have been identified and out of them 320 were removed from the site, including those of 29 children. The human skeletal remains were first found by some construction workers who were excavating the site behind the CWE Building in Mannar as part of a development project on May 25, 2018.

On the same day a complaint was lodged with the Mannar Police regarding the findings. Investigations began under the supervision of former Mannar Magistrate and District Judge Alex Raja.