Govt. Analyst rules out possibility of Dutch monk being killed

On two aspects examined so far

Toxicology report still being finalized

by Suresh Perera

Investigations conducted so far by the Government Analyst’s Department into two key aspects surrounding the mysterious death of Ven. Olande Jinarathana have ruled out the possibility of the Dutch monk being killed, a senior official said.

However, on the toxicology front, the bhikku’s body parts are still being examined to determine whether any poisonous substance in his blood had led to his death, he noted.

Apart from the toxicology report, which is still being finalized, an analysis of the piece of rope and the stone found tied to one of the monk’s legs plus an examination of the island hermitage and the scene where his body was fished out of the Polduwa lagoon have ruled out the possibility that he was killed, the official said.

The piece of rope was examined in detail by officers of the Government Analyst’s Department to ascertain whether the knot to hold the stone in place on one of the legs of the bhikku could have been tied by somebody else, he explained.

“On these two aspects, there was no credible evidence to suggest that the monk had been killed and his body dumped in the lagoon, he further said.

“After the toxicology aspect is finalized, we will be able to release the report”, he said.

Police investigators earlier said that the prelate may have committed suicide as the postmortem examination revealed that he had been alive at the time he was in the water (of the lagoon) as there was no sand found in his lungs.

Police investigations into the monk’s death were handled by special teams detailed by senior DIG Rohan Silva in charge of the Southern province.

“We probed all aspects of the bhikku’s death and there were no indications that he may have been killed”, the senior police official said.

Asked about the delay on the part of the Government Analyst’s Department in finalizing the report as the bhikku’s body was found on December 8, 2020, the official said that every possible detail has to be gone into, examined and analyzed as it has to be a 100% thorough and foolproof document.

He said that the department works until late evening even on Saturdays to clear the backlog of cases. There existed 27 vacancies which were filled only in September 2020 despite repeated attempts since 2017-18 to recruit the required cadre.

There is a backlog of 8,000 narcotics related cases, which are now being cleared, he said, while expressing optimism of overcoming the challenge by April this year.