Report on Mannar mass grave bone samples to be received tomorrow

The report on bone samples from the Mannar mass grave which were sent to the US for a carbon dating test will be received tomorrow (Feb 14), Special Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Dr. Shamindra Rajapaksa said.

The e-report of the bone samples which were sent on January 25 will be sent to the Mannar Magistrates Court and Dr. Rajapaksa by the Beta Analytics Department which is carrying out the test. The hard copies of the report will be sent on a later date, Dr. Rajapaksa noted.

Accordingly, the report would then be submitted before the Mannar magistrates court following which the future course of action would be decided.

The remains of 321 bodies including 28 children have been exhumed from the mannar mass grave after 144 days of excavation on the site.

Dr. Rajapaksa emphasised that the excavation which is being carried out on a plot that is 13 metres long and 11 metres in width, would continue until all remains are exhumed in order to carry out an analysis on the bone samples.

Pictures and text by Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi