The Colombo Chief Medical Officer has submitted a financial estimate of Rs. 2.85 million to the Kaluwanchikudi Magistrate’s Court to commence excavation work at a suspected mass grave site in Kurukkalmadam, Batticaloa.
The court has ordered that the request be forwarded to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice through the Batticaloa High Court for necessary funding.
The suspected mass grave is believed to contain the remains of 168 Muslims, allegedly massacred and buried by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) some 35 years ago. Permission for the excavation was granted on August 25, 2025, by Kaluwanchikudi Magistrate Safna Siraj.
Speaking to the media after today’s proceedings, lawyer Muazzam Mubarak, representing the victims, said:
“The budget submitted by the Colombo Chief Medical Officer was considered today. The magistrate accepted the estimate and ordered it to be sent to the relevant ministries for allocation of funds.”
The case is scheduled to be taken up again on October 9, 2025.
This marks the first planned excavation of a mass grave in Sri Lanka, as previous discoveries were made accidentally rather than through official investigation.
The origins of the case date back to 2014, when a complaint was filed at the Kaluwanchikudi Tourism Court by local resident Abdul Majeed Abdul Rauff. He alleged that a group of Muslims returning to Kattankudy after performing the Hajj pilgrimage in 1990 had been massacred and buried at Kurukkalmadam.
Although Justice A.M. Riyal ordered preliminary steps for excavation in July 2014, no action was taken at the time. After 11 years of delay, the case was revived in July 2025 following a fresh petition by the complainant.
