The Colombo Magistrate’s Court has ordered the exhumation of the body of Sathsara Nimesh, a 26-year-old youth who died while in Welikada police custody, to facilitate a full post-mortem by a panel of medical experts.

Colombo Additional Magistrate Keminda Perera issued the order after considering a request from the aggrieved party. The court directed the Colombo Chief Judicial Medical Officer to carry out the exhumation and appoint a committee of three specialist doctors to conduct the examination and submit a detailed report.

Nimesh was arrested on 1 April by the Welikada Police on suspicion of entering a house in the Nawala area. According to police, he behaved aggressively while in custody and died in the early hours of 2 April while receiving treatment at the hospital.

In the wake of the incident, the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Welikada Police Station has been removed from his post, and a police sergeant and constable have been suspended for alleged neglect of duty.