A court in Muthur has authorised the excavation of a potential mass grave site in Sampur where human skeletal remains were discovered last month, ordering that the work be carried out by the Sri Lankan Army’s Eastern Province Engineering Division with the approval of the Eastern Province Security Force Commander.
The decision, issued on 6 August by Magistrate H. M. Tasneem Fowsan, follows a legal conference convened at the Muthur Magistrate’s Court to deliberate on the excavation process. The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for 26 August.
The skeletal remains were unearthed on 20 July by Mines Advisory Group (MAG) demining teams near the beach adjacent to the Sampur Children’s Park. The discovery was made just metres from the location where at least 57 Tamil civilians were massacred by Sri Lankan government forces in July 1990.
Demining operations were halted immediately, and the site was inspected by the magistrate alongside officials from the Government Analyst’s Department, the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO), the Department of Archaeology, the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau, the Office on Missing Persons, and Sri Lanka’s Office of Crime Scene Investigation (SOCO). Reports from the JMO and the Department of Archaeology were submitted to court on 30 July.
‘No evidence of a burial ground’
At Wednesday’s conference, representatives from the Government Analyst’s Department, SOCO, the Department of Archaeology, the Office on Missing Persons, the Central Environmental Authority, the Divisional Secretary, the Pradeshiya Sabha Secretary, the local Grama Niladhari, and other relevant officials were invited to present their views.
The Divisional Secretary, Pradeshiya Sabha Secretary, and Department of Archaeology officials confirmed the land was state-owned and that there were no records indicating it had ever been used as a burial ground.
The JMO confirmed the remains were human, belonging to three males: one aged between 25 and 40, another aged between 45 and 60, and a third under the age of 25. He said it was not possible to determine whether the deaths were natural or the result of criminal activity. Notably, the remains of two individuals were found together, though the JMO stressed this did not confirm they had died of natural causes.
A representative from the National Mine Action Centre warned that further excavation could be hazardous and recommended the work be undertaken by the Sri Lankan Army’s Eastern Province Engineering Division under military approval.
Taking into account that the remains were from individuals of different ages and that the site had no record of being used as a cemetery, the court ordered that the excavation proceed under these conditions so further investigation could be conducted.
The re-excavation will take place ahead of the 26 August hearing, where the court is expected to review new findings.
