More than 150 boxes containing skeletal remains from Sri Lanka’s largest mass grave to date- in Mannar have been handed over to medical experts for detailed forensic investigation, after the initial report from a lab in the USA was rejected by Prof. Raj Somadeva, Sri Lanka’s leading forensic archeologist.
Body parts excavated from the “Sathosa mass grave” in Mannar were handed over to the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) of Jaffna for further examination by the Magistrate Court.
Meanwhile, the report with regard to the body parts accidentally found at the mass grave in Thiruketheeswaram was submitted by the JMO in court.
However, the contents of the report were not made public.
Both the Thiruketheeswaram and Sathosa mass grave cases came up for hearing at the Mannar Magistrate’s Court on 09 January.
Attorney-at-law Vallipuram Sandirapragasam Niranchan, representing the Association of Relatives of Enforced Disappearances (ARED) in Sri Lanka, in both cases, told the media in Mannar, that over 150 boxes containing the body parts excavated from the Sathosa mass grave has been handed over to the Judicial Medical Officer of Jaffna, Sellaiah Pranavan.
Colombo JMO Sunil Hewage handed over the report about the 27 skeletal remains excavated from Thiruketheeswaram including their age, and gender to the court, attorney Niranchan confirmed.
“Among the 81 human body parts examined by Colombo JMO Hewage, reports regarding 27 have been submitted. The report includes details regarding age, gender, and reason for the death. The court was informed that a report regarding the balance will be submitted in six months’ time”.
The next hearing in this case is scheduled for 12 March this year.
The Thiruketheeswaram mass grave was found on 17 December, 2013. The same year on 20 December, a case was filed in the Mannar Magistrate’s Court by the local police. And, as ordered by the Magistrate, excavation at the site was done and 82 skeletons were dug out.
Sathosa remains handed over to JMO
Human remains from the largest mass grave in Sri Lanka to date – at a Sathosa site in Mannar – were handed over to JMO of Jaffna Selliah Pranavan, Niranchan told local media in Mannar. In total, 156 boxes containing skeletal parts from the ‘Sathosa mass grave’ to the Jaffna JMO by the court, he added.
“As already agreed upon, the excavated human remains in 156 boxes were handed over to the JMO by the court for further analysis. A report in this regard will be submitted to the court”.
“Only after examining the bones, JMO Pranavan will submit a report to the court about its age, gender, injuries that caused the death, and any connection to criminal activities,” attorney Niranchan added.
The boxes containing the skeletal remains from the Sathosa mass grave were handed over to the Jaffna JMO in two installments on Thursday (9) and Friday (10).
376 skeletal remains including that of 28 children were found in the Sathosa mass grave while construction was happening at the site.
The Sathosa mass grave in Mannar was found in 2018 during construction work, and subsequent excavations led to the discovery of 376 human skeleton remains, including those of 28 children.
On the 190th day of investigations, forensic expert Dr. Saminda Rajapakse told journalists that the mass grave was identified as a crime site.
After examining six skeletal remains excavated from the Sathosa mass grave in Mannar, Beta Analytics based in Miami, USA, had concluded that they belong to the 1404-1635 AD period. However, Prof. Raj Somadeva, the country’s foremost forensic archaeologist dismissed the finding.
In July 2019, he commenced new investigations regarding hundreds of items recovered from the mass grave along with human bones, which are believed to help reach a reliable conclusion about the time period to which the mass grave belongs.
In the human body parts exhumed at that time, deep cuts were observed on some of the remains, while some appeared to have been bound together.
The Mannar ‘Sathosa mass grave’ was found in May 2018 when the state-owned Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau commenced construction work at the site.
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