The buried bodies of victims of bomb explosion in Saindamarudu were exhumed today to in order to get DNA samples to confirm the fate of Sarah Jasmine,alias Pulasthini Mahendran the woman in connection with the Easter attack, who believed went missing. Initial investigations had confirmed that she also among some extremists and relatives of Saharan Hasheem, when the explosion took place at a house in the area.
Police exhumed the bodies with the intention of conducting a DNA test to confirm whether she is really alive or dead following a court order taken yesterday.
It is reported that the first to be exhumed were the body parts of dead children. Investigations say that the excavations should be carried out with great care as these tests were carried out in a very scientific manner and recommendations were finalized.
Sarah Jasmine, the wife of the Hasthun, who bombed the Katuwapitiya church in Negombo, is also a trained woman as a suicide bomber. It was revealed that she had fled to Saindamarudu area after the April 21 attack and the house was cordoned off by the security forces on information that she was staying in a house there.
A suicide bomber who was there at the time detonated a bomb. There were 19 people in the house at the time and only Saharan’s wife Sadia and her baby survived.
Although there were 19 people, DNA tests on the bodies and body parts found at the scene confirmed that there were only 16 bodies at the scene.
The DNA of Sarah Jasmine, who is said to have been in the house, did not match the bodies and it was revealed that she had fled to India.
Former Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekera said that investigators believed she knew significant information about the attack and that she had died during inquiries.
However, the police have no definite information about her death and the sources said that a DNA test will be carried out on the body to confirm this.
