The Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court on Friday issued an order preventing former English cricket commentator Brian Thomas from leaving the country in connection with investigations into the murder of Chairman of Janashakti Insurance Company Dinesh Schaffter, reports said.
The 52-year-old had been reportedly found inside his car at the Borella Cemetery on the evening of December 15, bound by zip ties and seriously injured. Dinesh Schaffter, however, passed away due to a cardiac arrest while undergoing treatment at the Colombo National Hospital, according to NewsWire.
Dinesh is the son of Chandra Schaffter, a former first-class cricketer in the 1950s and cricket administrator of the 1996 world cup winning team.
Meanwhile, while imposing travel restrictions on Brian Thomas pursuant to a request made by Borella police, Colombo Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunawala called for a detailed report pertaining to telephone conversations in respect of the deceased's mobile phone number, Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka) reported.
According to NewsWire, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has launched a probe into the death of Dinesh Schaffter.
Police investigations have revealed that Schaffter had left his house in Colombo after informing his wife of meeting a person who owed him a large sum of money.
However, as the wife was unable to reach him via mobile, she managed to trace his location to the Borella Cemetary after which she informed a colleague of Schaffter in this regard.
The investigations further revealed that he was found, bound with zip ties and a wire around his neck, by his colleague at the Borella Cemetary, the NewWire report said.
The colleague with the assistance of a cemetery labourer had freed Schaffter and admitted him to the Colombo National Hospital, where he passed away.
The Police said it is suspected that the victim may have been abducted and abandoned at the Borella Cemetary.
During investigations, it has also been revealed that the cemetery labourer had witnessed an unknown individual walking away from near Schaffter’s car, the report added.