Preliminary work of the investigation report on the excavation of the largest mass grave found in Sri Lanka has commenced. The report is slated to be submitted to the court. The mass grave was found six years ago.
Attorney Shanthipragasam Niranjan, who represents victims of enforced ddisappearances in Mannar, says that the separation of the human remains recovered from the Sathosa mass grave in Mannnar and kept in the court’s custody, as well as various items found along with the skeletal remains took place in front of the Mannar Magistrate for five days last week.
“The boxes with other items found along with the human skeletons found in the Sathosa mass grave had been kept in the court’s custody. They were separated by the team led by Prof. Raj Somadeva, team of Judicial Medical Officers (JMO), officials of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), lawyers who appeared for the victims, and officers of the court in front of the Mannar Magistrate. Human skeletons and other items have been separated and safely stored at the court.”
Attorney Niranjan further said that the court has requested that the JMO report on the Sathosa mass grave in Mannar and the report drafted by Prof. Somadeva who conducted the excavations be presented to the court on 16 October.
“The court has requested the JMO report on the human skeletons and Prof. Somadeva’s report on the other items that have been found. They have said that they will present facts in this regard when the case is taken up again next Wednesday. They are slated to take this evidence to their institutions in Colombo, examine them, and submit to the court an anthropological report on the time period to which they belong and the cause/s of death, age, and sex of the deceased.”
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 had told journalists that the mass grave is identified as a crime site.
After examining six skeletal remains excavated from the Sathosa mass grave in Mannar, Beta Analytics based in Miami, US, had concluded that they belong to the 1404-1635 AD period. However, Prof. Somadeva from the Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology affiliated to the University of Kelaniya, categorically denied that conclusion. 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.
Deep cuts had been observed on some of the exhumed skeleton remains, while some appeared to have been bound together.
