The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Police has interviewed 23 persons in relation to the abduction and murder of businessman Dinesh Schaffter and recorded statements from them.

According to Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa, two teams of detectives are investigating available CCTV footage and crime scene analysis. 

Addressing the media yesterday evening (17), SSP Thalduwa stated that the initial postmortem by the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) had concluded that Schaffter had been murdered.

Thalduwa revealed that Schaffter had earlier lodged a complaint at the CID against an individual for defrauding his business to the cost of millions of rupees.

Thalduwa stated that the victim had been bound and strangled in his vehicle and that a thorough forensic investigation was now underway. The vehicle has also been detained for forensic examination.

It is understood that the Colombo Additional Magistrate on Friday (16) imposed an overseas travel ban on a former cricket commentator over Schaffter’s murder. The commentator’s phone had also been confiscated for forensic examination, the Police said.