Body parts kept with PS and Police permission: SAITM

The Board of Management of the South Asian Institute of Technology & Medicine (SAITM) said today it had secured approval both from the Police and from the Kaduwela Pradeshiya Sabha keep specimens of human body parts and bones for teaching purposes.

In a statement on the ongoing CID investigations into Wasim Thajudeen's missing body parts, the institution said its request for bones for educational purposes was made in 2011, much earlier than Mr. Thajudeen's death.

It reiterated that the list compiled when issuing bones did not contain the name of Wasim Thajudeen.

“Specimens of the human body and of bones are kept at our institution only for purposes of education, as is the common practice in most medical faculties. These specimens are securely stored at our Museum for medical teaching. All specimens received by SAITM have been taken over following the due and established processes with the the take- over is documented, supervised and certified by the relevant authorities,”

“SAITM has no control over the procedures of issuing bones from the JMO's office and our records do not reveal that any body part of Wasim Thajudeen had been sent to SAITM. The list given to us when issuing bones does not contain the name of Wasim Thajudeen,” the statement said.

It said SAITM Vice Chancellor Prof. Samarasekera who was being investigated in connection with the missing body parts during the initial postmortem examination conducted by him as the then Colombo Chief JMO voluntarily took leave of absence to facilitate the CID investigations conducted at SAITM.