CID officers investigating the murder of Janashakthi Company director Dinesh Schaffter suspect that a close associate of the deceased may be involved in his murder.
This is on the evidence gathered so far during the murder investigation.
This suspicion is rooted in the fact that Dinesh Schaffter suddenly left his house at Flower Road, Colombo 7 saying that he was going to Borella and his car had come directly to the General Cemetery Borella as well as the facts that emerged from his phone analysis.
A high-ranking police officer stated that investigators are closely monitoring several people who are under suspicion.
The officer also said that the evidence so far with regard to Schaffter’s car entering the General Cemetery Borella and the location and the way it was parked shows that the person driving the car had a good understanding of the roads inside the cemetery.
The police officer also said that in order to have such an understanding, the person driving the car must have visited the cemetery on several occasions and if Dinesh Schaffter had been driving his car from home to the cemetery then this would not be the first time he had come to the Borella cemetery in his vehicle.
Also, CID investigators have observed a suspicious looking vehicle following Schaffter’s vehicle on the day of his murder and this aspect too, is being closely probed.
“It is an unusual event for a high profile businessman like Dinesh Schaffter to visit a cemetery to meet a person. Also he had come alone from his home. He could have come with a driver. Therefore, it appears that he has come on this trip for a very personal matter. It is possible that he came to meet someone whom he trusts. It is also possible that someone tricked him into coming. Investigators are looking into these aspects. If someone did not get into the car, there was someone waiting to meet him in the cemetery. The person is most likely to be the killer,” the officer said.
CID officials have found that the person who brought Schaffter to the cemetery had brought him there with the intention of killing him.
Investigators have also found that the killing was not the result of sudden anger or a spur-of-the-moment incident.
“This crime happened while Schaffter was in the driver’s seat. He was in the driver’s seat when he was found. This is evident from the statements given by his business partner as well as a cemetery worker. Accordingly, it is further clear that Schaffter had driven the car. When Schaffter was found, his hands were tied. His hands were tied with not something like ropes that can be found around the cemetery but with plastic cable ties. Cable ties are faster and easier than tying with ropes. Besides, Schaffter was strangled with a wire. At first glance, it does not look like the wire was picked up from the ground. It’s a new one. He was tied to the driver’s seat with a wire around his neck. Cable ties and wires are not normally found in graveyards. Accordingly, it appears that Schaffter was brought to the cemetery to be killed,” he further said.
According to police information, CID investigators have made a lot of headway in the murder investigation and are confident that the truth behind the murder could be revealed soon.
A senior official of the CID said yesterday that for the first time, a statement was obtained from the wife of Dinesh Schaffter for nearly two and a half hours in connection with the murder.
The officer said that eight cameras were checked yesterday to uncover important information regarding the murder and so far the footage of 50 CCTV cameras has been examined.
The officer said that it was confirmed that Schaffter was alone when his car entered the cemetery.
(dailynews.lk)
