At least 23 persons have been questioned in connection with the murder of billionaire businessman Dinesh Schaffter as police continue to hunt for the assassin or assassins, a senior most official said yesterday.
Among those questioned were family members, company employees, security guards and cemetery workers, Police Media Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said yesterday.
The questioning of persons is a standard police procedure when dealing with a homicide and they cannot be categoried as suspects, he said.
He told the Sunday Observer that a wide hunt has also been launched to track down the killer or killers of Schaffter while an overseas travel ban has been slapped on the key suspect- TV presenter Brian Thomas.
“However, having said that it must be mentioned that as of now there is no hard evidence to link the murder to Thomas as the probe will have to continue”, SSP Thalduwa said.
The former TV presenter is a person of interest in the ongoing homicide investigation and is known to have borrowed a large sum of money from the victim, he said.
It is strongly believed that more than one person was involved in the murder when considering the modus operandi that had been used in the killing, SSP Thalduwa said.
He said it was not clear if the victim was attacked elsewhere and later brought to the Borella Kanatte or whether he was lured to the spot by the killers. The victim had also chosen to self drive on that day instead of using his driver informing his wife that he was to hold some discussions.
Colombo JMO Dr. M.N. Ruhul Haq said that the victim had been strangled to death and there were no signs of other injuries on his person.
Schaffter’s was found gagged and dying inside his car at the general cemetery in Kanatte late Thursday afternoon.
He was rescued by a company staff member but succumbed while under treatment at the National Hospital in Colombo.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) along with the Borella Police and other units are conducting further investigations.