வசீம் தாஜுத்தீன் படுகொலை, தொடர்பில் புதிய ஆதாரங்கள்..!

By Ruwan Laknath Jayakody -

 Feb 20, 2016

According to information from unofficial sources, the Homicide Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is presently gathering some new evidence in relation to the murder of ruggerite Wasim Thajudeen, before going overseas to have the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage examined, Attorney-at-Law representing the Thajudeen family, A. Sathar M. Misbah said.

It was recently revealed at the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court that although a month had elapsed since Colombo Additional Magistrate Nishantha Peiris gave the order (on January 7) to the CID to send video copies of the CCTV camera footage containing stills of the assailants of Thajudeen to the Laboratory of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States of America or the Forensic Video and Surveillance Technology Laboratory of British Columbia’s Institute of Technology in Canada or the Directorate of Forensic Services of the Metropolitan Police Service of the New Scotland Yard in London, England (all three institutions were suggested by the University of Colombo School of Computing {UCSC}.

The plaintiff has the prerogative to decide which one of the institutions they want the video evidence analyzed by and inform the Court of such), for further examination and analysis and to obtain a report, the footage and copies of the videos are still languishing in a safe drawer at the judiciary.

“The order has been given by the Magistrate and the Ministry of Law and Order has given the approval for the foreign involvement and travel, and the necessary allocations have also been made.

Yet the footage is still at the Court. We do not know what the reason behind this is but unofficial sources state that the Homicide Unit of the CID is gathering other evidence, upon the collection of which, they will go ahead. The four or five Officers of the Unit involved in this case will spend a week or 10 days abroad.

Currently, they do not want to break the trend that is there in the investigation. The CID has to produce a suspect or suspects. A Captain Tissa is also being looked into. Phone calls made by various people to various people and the times of the calls are being looked at. Telecommunications service provider and mobile network operator, Dialog is also cooperating.

The CID cannot and does not want to divulge any details about the new evidence, as the evidence is crucial, integral, closely monitored and must be secretive. When the case is next taken up on February 25, the CID will explain why there is a delay,” he explained.

Captain Tissa Wimalasena was a soldier in the Army who later served as a personal driver and security guard of former President

Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The CCTV camera footage collected by the CID from the scene of the crime on 2012 May 17 was sent to the UCSC for a more detailed analysis of the data, and subsequently a report and copies of the videos were produced to the Court by the UCSC on January 4 this year.

Chief Registrar of the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, Chamila Wickremathunge said that when such an order is given by a Magistrate, the Court productions (in this case kept in the Colombo Magistrate’s Court Number 3) should rightfully be sent for the relevant purpose.

She added also that the process and procedure followed in such an event could be explained only if the writer of this article arrived at the Court premises during work hours and identified himself.