The identification is now underway of the skeletal remains unearthed from the Kokkutuduvai mass grave in Mullaitivu, said JMO Kanagasabapathi Vasudeva.
He informed the magistrate’s court there on 08 August that remains belonging to 52 persons had been unearthed by 15 July.
Later, speaking to the media, Dr. Vasudeva said their gender, ages, heights etc. would have to be determined.
Twenty-five of the skeletal remains had been sent to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital for examination, he said.
A detailed forensic report is expected within six months, added the JMO.
Forensic archaeologist Prof. Raj Somadeva informed the court in March that the skeletons belonged to LTTE members who had been hurriedly buried following a firefight in the mid-1990s.
Samples have also been obtained for DNA testing, as there are several sworn affidavits filed with that request, said lawyer V.S. Niranjan.
The case will be taken up again on 27 September.
Water supply workers digging to lay pipelines stumbled upon the gravesite on 29 June 2023.