- Former JMO to submit final report on September 10
By Nirmala Kannangara
Taking the remains of Wasim Thajudeen from the burial ground of the Dehiwela mosque
Questions have been raised as to why the former Colombo Chief Judicial Medical Officer (JMO), Prof. Ananda Samarasekera, has still failed to submit the final JMO report on Wasim Thajudeen’s death to the Colombo Magistrate’s Court even by August 31. The JMO had promised to present the report to court on or before August 31. Legal luminaries are of the view that Prof. Samarasekera is waiting to see the present JMO and the Government Analyst reports, before submitting his final report.
However, Prof. Samarasekera told The Sunday Leader that he was not asked to submit the final JMO report by August 31, but was informed by court that the next hearing date is on September 10.
“I am in receipt of a court notice that the next hearing date is September 10 and I have prepared the final report to be submitted on this date. I was never asked to give the report by August 31. It is contempt of court if I have not abided by the court order,” Prof. Samarasekera said.
Meanwhile, solid evidence with regard to the former national rugby player and Captain of Havelock Sports Club, Wasim Thajudeen’s death are continuing to be revealed.
Although initially it was said that Thajudeen had died of burn injuries after the car in which he was travelling met with an accident and went into flames at Park Road, Narahenpita in close proximity to Shalika Grounds on May 17, 2012, later it became a question as to how his wallet was found a few kilometers away from the scene of the accident.
According to highly placed sources, Thajudeen’s mobile phone has been traced from the Nuwara Eliya area, a long distance away from where the victim’s car met with the accident. For the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) teams who conduct Thajudeen’s murder investigations, these two cases in point have become solid proof to identify the former rugby player’s death as a murder.
In such a background, the Narahenpita police are accused of deliberate attempts to hide the facts.
“The then Colombo Chief Judicial Medical Officer, Prof. Ananda Samarasekera’s preliminary and interim post mortem reports state that the death was due to carbon monoxide toxicity. However, the Government Analyst’s report states carbon monoxide had not been found in Thajudeena’s lungs, which contradicts with the JMO’s post mortem report. We consider the Government Analyst’s report is accurate as the Narahenpita police investigation team failed to follow the proper investigation procedure into the car crash and how it went into flames,” reliable sources at the CID, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Sunday Leader.
However, Thajudeen’s maternal uncle, Fayaz Latheef, said that when the family visited the scene within a few hours after the tragic incident, the front right car wheel was down a ditch but the rest of the vehicle was on the pavement.
“The car fell further down the ditch when we tried to take Thajudeen’s body out of the car. When the Judge came to the scene and instructed the police to take the body out, we all tried our best to open the car door. Since we couldn’t, the police had to break the door and it was then only the car fell down the ditch. It is only this picture that was shown on TV and in print media. Those who saw the visuals may have thought that my nephew’s car had banged on to the wall and it went up in flames, which is not true. As I said earlier, only the right front wheel had gone down the ditch, which is a minor accident. When we inspected the fuel tank area, there were no damages to that side of the car. So then how could this fire break out?” queried Latheef.
According to Latheef, the family was overwhelmed when they came to know that the once ‘closed’ case was re-opened after the new government came into power in January this year and added that they have hopes in the country’s present judiciary system and confident that the CID will bring the perpetrators to book sooner than later.
“We suffered immensely in silence as there was no one we could turn to seek justice. Although we got numerous messages that Thajudeen’s death was not an accidental death but a planned murder, which we too suspected after seeing the burnt vehicle, we still could not open our mouths for fear. Even though we suspected foul play, we never suspected the alleged party to whom the fingers have now been pointed at to commit this crime as they were best of his friends from school days. However, my nephew spoke about certain rugby players who were jealous of him as he was an upcoming rugby player and once became the most popular rugby player of the year,” Latheef told The Sunday Leader.
Meanwhile, sources from the CID, on condition of anonymity, said three former Presidential Security Division (PSD) officers have now been identified as probable suspects behind Thajudeen murder and said they will be arrested within a few days.
“The CID is now following these suspects and we have taken all steps to arrest them once the order is given and they will not be able to leave the country,” sources said
Meanwhile, accusations have been levelled against former DIG for Colombo, Anura Senanayake who had allegedly taken a personal interest to identify Thajudeen’s death as an accidental death due to burn injuries.
After the new government came into power in January this year, IGP N. K. Illangakoon directed the CID in February to expedite the investigations into this mysterious death after the Government Analyst’s report was released two-and-a-half years after the death.
Many lapses
According to CID sources, there have been many lapses when conducting the investigation soon after Thajudenn’s death and the investigation team had deliberately failed to obtain CCTV footages from the vicinity.
“Unlike in other places, there were many CCTV cameras around the place where the accident occurred. The reasons why the investigators failed to obtain these footages are questionable. They also deliberately failed to search for his mobile phone and to obtain the call details of his phone. They also failed to take proper evidence from the neighbourhood and from the security guards at Shalika Ground. They also should have obtained evidence from the Fire Brigade officers and to find out what the reason was for the fire,” sources said.
Sources further queried as to why the police team did not suspect any foul play into this death although Thajudeen’s body was found on the front passenger seat.
“At the post mortem, glass particles had been found on the reverse side of the deceased’s knee and he had sustained injuries from a broken bottle. Had Prof. Ananda Samarasekera seen the body, he would have checked these injuries and how this happened and checked from where the glass particles had come from. It is also surprising as to why these glass particles were not sent to the Government Analyst and further investigations were not conducted on the matter,” sources claimed.
According to CID sources, it was the former DIG Anura Senanayake, who was a close confidant of the former President and his brother, the former Defence Secretary, who had allegedly taken every step to cover up the incident by claiming that it was an accidental death due to carbon monoxide toxicity.
“Generally in cases like these, the police should ask the JMO to come for further investigations but instead, the body was taken after the Magistrate’s visit and the car was removed from the scene after the Government Analyst came and cleared all the evidence from the scene and washed the area within a few hours, on the instructions of DIG Senanayake,” sources alleged.
Meanwhile, the CID is now conducting investigations on information they have received on how certain PSD officials had a covert discussion before Thajudeen was killed and whether this discussion was held to plan the murder.
Describing how the family was shocked after hearing the tragic death, Latheef said that his nephew had left home on that fateful day saying that he was going to one of his friend’s house, whose father was sick and hospitalized.
“Wasim’s body had been found around 12.30 in the morning and the police had got the address of the owner of the vehicle from the RMV as the rear number plate had been found about 20 to 30 metres away from the scene. The police had arrived at my sister’s (Thajudeen’s mother) place around 2am and had broken the news. My niece had accompanied the police officers and my brother who is living in Colombo too had joined the niece at the scene. When I was told about this it was around 2.30 am and I travelled immediately to Colombo from Galle to be with my niece,” Latheef said.
According to Latheef, although the vehicle was identified as his nephew’s, they could not claim the body as the body was charred and beyond recognition.
“Then we told the police that Wasim had undergone surgery once and an iron plate had been inserted to his knee, the police wanted us to bring his medical reports and consulted the doctor, who performed the operation, to check whether our claim was true. It was only after verifying with the doctor, the body was released to the family,” Latheef claimed.
Latheef further said how the decision he took during the funeral became helpful for the Colombo Chief JMO, Dr. Ajith Tennakoon, to exhume Wasim’s remains.
“It is the Muslim ritual to wash the dead body before it is wrapped in a white cloth. As an immediate family member I was entrusted to perform that ritual and when I tried to wrap the body in a white cloth, I knew that one day my nephew’s remains would be exhumed and hence I wrapped it with a white polythene and then in a white cloth. Had I wrapped it only with a cloth, the pieces of remains would have scattered all over in the grave,” Latheef added.
Good friends
When asked whether former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s sons were friends of Thajudeen, Latheef said that they were good friends and have visited his nephew on many occasions before the father became the President.
“After the father became the President, they never came to my nephew’s place. Even after his death, although Namal Rajapaksa claimed that my nephew was like a brother to him, they never came. Only their mother, Shiranthi Rajapaksa visited our family after seven days,” he added.
According to Latheef, it was after the funeral service, the police had told about Wasim’s wallet and the Laugfs Supermarket bill, which was found in the purse that raised several questions.
“Wasim had purchased a 5 liter bottle of water from the Thimbirigasyaya Laugfs Supermarket at 12.20 am – just a few minutes before his death. Why did he buy a 5-liter bottle of water? It is now up to the CID to investigate into all these details,” Latheef claimed.
Meanwhile, Prof. Ananda Samarasekera explained how he had to submit the interim report to courts giving the cause of death since the Government Analyst has taken a long time to send his findings on the accident.
“Since the Government Analyst’s Department is very busy with all other work, there was a delay in sending their report to the courts. Had the court wanted the GA to expedite this process, he would have certainly done so but as there was no such order, it got delayed,” Prof. Samarasekera added.
According to Prof. Samarasekera, although there are allegations that his reports and GA’s reports contradict each other, he still stands by his findings. “In my long-standing service, how many reports have contradicted each other. This is a minor matter although certain parties are now trying to say that I have given such a report on the request of someone, which is incorrect. Dr. Sriyantha Amararatne and Dr. C. K. Rajaguru helped me to do the post mortem. We were never called to the scene of the crime although we would have visited the scene and the body had been brought to the mortuary,” Prof. Samarasekera said.