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 Mysterious death of ruggerite Wasim Thajudeen :
Magisterial verdict on December 10
Ending months of controversy over the alleged cause of death of Wasim
Thajudeen, the verdict of the magisterial inquiry into the case is due
on December 10, authoritative legal sources told the Sunday Observer.
The magistrate, considering the JMO report and other evidence
presented before the court, will determine whether the rugby player’s
death was a murder or the result of a fatal accident.
The Homicide Unit of the CID and Judicial Medical Officers who
presented the JMO report have already established that it was a murder.
A top police source told the Sunday Observer that the CID would
proceed with the investigation and arrest the suspects in the case if
the Magistrate declared it as a murder.
In his final report to the Colombo Additional Magistrate, Chief JMO
Dr. Tennakoon has ruled out the purported cause of death, thereby
completely overruling the initial police investigations that concluded
Thajudeen had died in an accident.
At the time of his death, it was widely reported that the accident
was possibly caused by excessive speed of the vehicle. The charred body
of Thajudeen was exhumed three months ago for re-examination from the
Muslim burial grounds in Dehiwala.
The Chief JMO concluded the multiple injuries caused to the neck,
legs and abdomen had resulted in Thajudeen’s death, aggravated by the
flames that engulfed the car. In his report, he concluded that the
victim would have succumbed to his injuries within minutes of the car
being set ablaze.
The report noted that the DNA sample established that it was Wasim
Thajudeen’s body and when it was exhumed, there were only ‘dried bones.’
There were multiple horizontal fractures on his bones, particularly
both his thigh bones, leading to the conclusion that the victim was not
killed in a motor accident, as claimed.
The bone below the knee of the left leg was also broken and experts
concluded that this was due to an assault.
“The fractures could only have been caused due to repeated blows with
a blunt weapon,” the report stated. |
