Colombo Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya yesterday (10) proceeded to conduct the death inquest of Janashakthi PLC Director Dinesh Schaffter in the Magistrate’s chamber instead of in open court, as per a request made by the deceased’s family members, for the second consecutive day.

The death inquest was taken up yesterday morning, and the Additional Magistrate ordered that it be conducted in the Magistrate’s chamber at the request of Schaffter’s family. Schaffter’s brother, Ramesh Schaffter, gave evidence before the Additional Magistrate. The proceedings of the death inquest were not open for the media, and went on for about an hour from 12.30 p.m. Additional Magistrate Jayasuriya ordered that the death inquest be taken up again on 13 January.

Earlier, the Additional Magistrate proceeded to conduct the death inquest of Schaffter in the Magistrate’s chamber as per a request made by the deceased's family members on 4 January. On that day, Schaffter’s wife Tania Schaffter and a director of a company headed by Schaffter, Patrick Chris Perera, testified.

Meanwhile, Police Media Spokesman, Senior Superintendent of Police and Attorney-at-Law Nihal Thalduwa had confirmed to the media that Schaffter’s death was in fact not a suicide, adding that there is no report suggesting such.

He had told the media that statements have been recorded from nearly 175 persons with regard to the incident, while almost 14 case items have also been referred to the Government Analyst for further analysis.

Schaffter died at the National Hospital in Colombo on 15 December 2022 after being found tied to the driver’s seat in his vehicle with a wire around his neck. He had left home that afternoon to attend a meeting and had not returned home. His wife had located Schaffter near the Borella cemetery via GPS technology-based tracking, after which he was admitted to the hospital.