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Mystery deepens over Dinesh Schaffter death

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2 years ago

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Criminal investigators have begun looking for a motive and suspects after a majority opinion of forensic experts ruled that the death of corporate executive Dinseh Schaffter was a murder and not suicide.

Four of the five experts had said that Schaffter died in December 2022 following “pressure applied to his neck and face.” The dissenting opinion was that it was a “complex suicide” committed by ingesting cyanide while trying to make the death look like murder.

“The circumstantial evidence, the timeline last events, observations of first autopsy and second autopsy findings are indicative of ‘complex suicide,’” the Judicial Medical Officer of the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, Dr. R. P. Ruwanpura said.

He noted a “probable attempt to mimic homicidal circumstances,” to mask the suicide and distract the investigators, a line that is rejected by the three academics – professors Asela Mendis of Colombo University, U. C. P. Perera of Ruhuna and D. M. G. Fernando of Peradeniya.

Former JMO of the Kandy Hospital, Dr. M. Sivasubramaniam, also agreed with the majority opinion. The majority disagreed with the findings of Dr. Ruwanpura that cyanide poisoning caused the death. The majority held that the victim died of asphyxiation.

“The level of cyanide detected in blood taken from the blood vessel is less than the fatal level,” according to the majority opinion. “Therefore, it is not possible to attribute the death to cyanide. It is also not possible to postulate the degree of contribution of this non-fatal level of cyanide in blood to the death.”

Dr. Ruwanpura noted that blood samples had been tested seven days later and that was the reason to show a lower level of cyanide. He also notes that lesions (marks) Schaffter’s neck and face were due to attempts at the hospital to resuscitate him, due to two autopsies, embalming and decomposition and not fatal injuries.

Although there was such a divergence of expert opinion, Additional Colombo magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya ruled that there were reasonable grounds to rule the death as a murder and asked the police to investigate and arrest suspects and produce them before her.

Police said they were consulting the Attorney General for new direction in the case which they had earlier considered a suicide after failing to establish a credible motive or suspects.

“We must look at this case a fresh. We can’t exclude an insurance angle. The new investigation would focus on the kind of coverage the victim had, who would be the beneficiaries. Who would have a motive to murder,” a senior investigator said.

Several of Schaffter’s business associates have already been interviewed by investigators. A former cricket commentator and media personality Brian Thomas who is said to owe a large amount of money to Schaffter had been questioned.

A phone analysis of Schaffter’s telephone and all the mobile devices that were operating at the time in the vicinity of the murder scene – Borella kanatte – failed to point to a possible suspect, according to the investigator who asked not to be named.

CCTV footage along the route he took on his final drive suggested that he travelled alone in his Toyota Camry, he said.

Following the magistrate’s ruling to issue a death certificate to the next of kin, the family issued a statement thanking those who stood by them and saying that they could now begin to mourn.The family accused unnamed officials of “prying into our lives” to push the “suicide narrative.”

“The lie was printed across headlines, whispered behind our backs, and told to our faces by heartless professionals who should, and did, know better. In the days and months following Dinesh’s death, the suicide narrative continued to be pressed on us.

“So rather than seek justice for a murder, we desperately tried to avert the injustice of an obvious lie,” they said.

The “suicide” ruling was in February after a toxicology report that showed cyanide in the stomach contents of Schaffter. Initially, the cause of death was “strangulation.”

“We are back at the beginning,” the family said in a statement posted on social media. “With the injustice of his murder a reality we can only now begin to mourn.”


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Indonesian Navy Sailing Ship KRI BIMA SUCI – 945 concludes official goodwill visit to Sri Lanka

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5 hours ago

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2026/04/19

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The Indonesian Navy Sailing Ship KRI BIMA SUCI – 945 departed the island on 18 Apr 2026, marking the successful completion of her official goodwill visit.

The ship was accorded a formal farewell by the Sri Lanka Navy in accordance with naval traditions at the Port of Colombo.

The visit also served as a valuable educational platform, as officer under-trainees and other personnel of the Sri Lanka Navy had the opportunity to conduct an observational
tour of the sailing vessel. This exchange of knowledge was complemented by a series of events designed to foster professional and social bonds.

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Heat Index at Caution Level in the Northern, North-central, North-western, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern and Southern provinces and in Monaragala district

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11 hours ago

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2026/04/19

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Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 18 April 2026, valid for 19 April 2026

The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Northern, North-central, North-western, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern
and Southern provinces and in Monaragala district.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.


Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

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‘Agents of the devil’ seeking to block Easter probe, Cardinal warns

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11 hours ago

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2026/04/19

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Warning that “agents of the devil who wish to hide the truth behind a wall of political posturing” were attempting to obstruct investigations into the Easter Sunday terror attacks, the Catholic Church has called for intensified public support and prayer to ensure justice for victims.

In a message issued ahead of the seventh anniversary of the April 21, 2019 bombings, Colombo Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said there were ongoing efforts by various forces to derail credible inquiries into the coordinated attacks that claimed 278 lives and left nearly 500 injured.

The statement noted that many of those killed had been attending Easter Sunday Mass when suicide bombers struck churches, including St. Anthony’s Shrine, Kochchikade, St. Sebastian’s Church, Katuwapitiya, and Zion Church, Batticaloa, causing widespread devastation and long-term suffering among survivors.

Seven years on, the Caridnal said, critical questions remain unanswered, including who masterminded the attacks, their motives, and why places of worship were targeted on Christianity’s most sacred day.

Full text of Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith’s message: On 21st April 2026, the Church in Sri Lanka will be commemorating the 7th Anniversary of the Easter Sunday bomb blasts, which killed 278 of our fellow human beings and brethren in the faith in the most brutal fashion. Most of these people had come to our Churches for Easter Sunday Masses and prayer services. Many families were rendered destitute. Nearly 500 people were injured and some of them carry life long disabilities, suffering from the after effects of these blasts. St. Anthony’s Church Kochchikade and St. Sebastian’s Church Katuwapitiya of the Catholic community and the Zion Church in Batticaloa were, quasi totally destroyed. The economy of the country suffered immensely with untold problems affecting many families, ever since then. However much we try to console the families of these victims, it is something that we humans are unable to achieve as only the Lord can truly console them.

Besides, we still do not know who murdered these people and caused so much of suffering to many others, and why and for what purpose they chose our Churches on a day that was most sacred to us to organize these attacks. After repeated pleas by the Catholic Church, now at last, the incumbent government and the security establishment, seem to be holding a credible inquiry into this episode of mass murder in order to find out who was really behind it.

And there are many forces actively seeking to obstruct these inquiries and divert the direction of the inquiry in an aimless fashion in order to hide the truth behind these attacks. They are nothing but the agents of the devil who wish to hide the truth behind a wall of political posturing. We need to storm Heaven and ask the Lord to strengthen the hands of the investigators to find out what really happened and who was behind this mass murder as well as why it was done to innocent people who had nothing to do with politics.

Hence, I call upon all of you to kindly storm Heaven with your prayers calling upon the Lord to help us find out what really happened that most tragic day. And so, I am declaring Sunday, the 19th of April 2026, as a special day of prayer for this purpose. I shall be most grateful to every one of you, beloved brethren, if you could recite special prayers in all the parishes of the Archdiocese at Sunday Mass on that day and offer prayers at home too for the success of these investigations. The special prayer for truth and justice for the victims of the bomb attacks, already approved by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, could also be recited. I call upon all our Catholic devotees to join us in this effort.

Let us stand together firmly behind the efforts to find out the truth. Let us not be deceived by attempts of different people to hide the truth or divert attention in all kinds of directions in order to confuse the public.

May the Blessed Mother, our Lady of Lanka, intercede for us in this most important matter.

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