Postmortem report of Kebithigollewa victims complete

The postmortem reports of the 16 bodies found in a jungle at Kirikatuweva in Anuradhapura were submitted to Kebithigollewa Magistrate Shivantha Manchanayake on Monday through the Kebiothigollewa Police by Judicial Medical Officer Ajith Jayasena of the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital.

On Sunday, JMO Jayasena concluded the postmortem of all 16 bodies, which were in two pits in a jungle area with the assistance of Forensic Odontologist Sisira Ranasinghe.

The Magistrate has instructed the Police to conduct further investigations. During the postmortem, the cause of death had been identified as a result of gunshot injuries.

The Bottom Line learns that the Magistrate had directed to bury the deceased at Anuradhapura Public Cemetery in a manner which they can be exhumed, if a necessity arises in the future.

Anuradhapura General Hospital Director Sarath Weerabandara said, “We have all the information on record, which will be useful in identifying the bodies. The victims’ exterior appearance such as height, skin colour, nature of hair, special marks on the skin etc., formations of attires as well as inner features such as ailments, DNA reports, bone X-rays, dental formations had been recorded using latest technology in order to make the relatives easy to identify the bodies. However, so far, no relative of the 16 victims have made any claims.