Court upholds former JMO’s objections over indictment

Colombo High Court upheld a preliminary objection raised against the indictments framed in court by the Attorney General accusing former Chief Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Ananda Samarasekara for concealing evidence in the killing of rugby player Wasim Thajudeen.

High Court Judge Manjula Thilakaratna, delivering his order on the preliminary objection taken on behalf of former JMO by his counsel, asserted that prima facie, the indictment filed in the court seems bad in law.

He further said that if the prosecution takes up the stance that the accused had committed the offence in connivance with persons known to the prosecution, they should name them, otherwise, it will cause irreparable damage to the accused.

The judge while fixing the trial for February 24, requested the prosecution to amend the indictment.

The Attorney General had filed an indictment against the suspect under Section 198 of the Penal Code.

Following the serving of the indictment on the accused, his counsel filed preliminary objections contending that the indictment was bad in law.

The former JMO is presently on a cash bail of Rs 25,000 with two sureties of Rs.1 million each.

It was alleged that the ex JMO had removed some bone fragments from the body of Thajudeen after instructing that they are sent to his office following the post-mortem inquiry.

The prosecution also alleged that the JMO had delayed the final report of the post-mortem examination by two years despite receiving the Government Analyst’s report.

Thajudeen died on May 17, 2012, at Narahenpita near the Shalika grounds when his car crashed into a wall and caught fire.

Initially, it was ruled as an accidental death but further investigations by the CID had found that the player was brutally tortured before his death with blunt and sharp weapons.

Former Officer-In-Charge of Narahenpita Police Sumith Champika Perera, former Western Province Senior DIG Anura Senanayake and former Colombo Judicial Medical Officer Prof. Ananda Samarasekara have been arrested in connection with the cover-up after the murder. However, no suspect has been arrested yet for the killing. (T.Farook Thajudeen)