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Indian
forensic expert claims threats to life The plaintiff made this request after informing court that Prof. Dr. P. Chandra Sekharan, the Indian expert commissioned for the examination of these documents, would not be coming to the country as he feared for his life. Appearing for the aggrieved party, President's Counsel Desmond Fernando told court that the forensics expert had written to his client, Stanley Christopher Ashoka Obeysekera, that he would not come to Colombo as he had received three threatening calls from a phone number in New Delhi last Sunday. Dr. Chandra Sekharan had stated that the caller was seemingly aware of his travel schedule in Colombo. He had further stated that the caller appeared to be a Delhi businessman calling on the instructions of a friend in Colombo. Internationally renowned forensic expert Prof. Dr. P. Chandra Sekharan, Director of the School of Science and Forensic Science, National Law University, Jodhpur, India, was earlier added to the witness list with court permission. In his letter to Mr. Obeysekera, Dr. Chandra Sekharan had asked him to request the court to send the documents to him in Bangalore through a Court's Commission or by any other means which the court thinks fit. The doctor had also said that this would facilitate him to examine the documents more thoroughly in his laboratory. Commenting on the application, defence counsel M.L.M. Ameen PC told court that the call could have referred to last Saturday's grenade attack on the show in which Shahrukh Khan and other Indian stars participated. He said that Dr. Sekharan had received the call from a mobile phone with a number in India and thus the incident could not be related to the case. High Court judge Rohini Perera responding to the application, asked the plaintiff to make the request about Dr. Sekharan at an appropriate stage in the case. In this case, the three suspects, former Military Spokesman Col. Sumedha Perera, former BASL Secretary Bandula Wijesinghe and former caretaker of the property H.M. Sarath Wijewardena are charged with claiming the property of a well-known philanthropists by fraudulent means. The property off Rajagiriya, which extends over one-and-a-half acres was owned by the Kotte Urban Council's first Mayor, Donald Obeysekere. It was later transferred to one of his sons, Alexander Obeysekere. The land has also been declared a protected property by the Archaeological Department. Lawyer Bandula Wijesinghe is thereby charged with fraudulently certifying a forged document with false signatures and making a forged deed as a deed of gift presented by Fredrick Wimaladharma Obeysekere on or around June 11, 2001. According to the complaint, Col. Sumedha Perera, along with the caretaker had claimed ownership to the property after producing the deed of gift. They are thus charged with aiding and abetting the said offence. The case was fixed for further trial on January 5, 6 and 7, 2005. |
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