October 22, Colombo (LNW): The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has launched a fresh inquiry into claims reportedly made by three individuals convicted in connection with the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, who allegedly told a three-judge High Court bench that those truly responsible for the attacks remain free.
Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris informed the Fort Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday (21) that the three convicts had made the statements despite having been found guilty in connection with the attacks. According to the prosecution, they claimed that they were being sent to prison while the people they alleged were actually responsible for the atrocities remained at large.
Describing the claims as serious, Peiris sought the court’s permission for eight CID officers to visit the prison and record statements from the three individuals, identified as Milhan, Rizkan and Zainul Abdeen.
The request was made during proceedings concerning allegations that investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks had been deliberately misdirected. The case involves three suspects, including retired Major General Suresh Sallay, the former Director of the State Intelligence Service, and was taken up before Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena.
Updating the court on the investigation, Peiris said inquiries that had previously progressed slowly were now moving forward more rapidly, with statements obtained from several significant witnesses during the preceding week.
Among them was Mikel Xavier Vilvarasingham, also known as Rajan, who had reportedly provided information to Army Intelligence before the attacks.
According to the prosecution, Rajan had maintained contact with an Army Corporal identified as Suranga and had been instructed to collect information about activities at the residence of a person named Theepan. Theepan was described as a friend of businessman Alawdeen, whose daughter was married to Easter Sunday suicide bomber Inshaf Ahmed.
Peiris told the court that Rajan had visited the residence before the attacks and observed a woman wearing a black burqa and a man speaking Tamil in a dialect associated with the Batticaloa area. Rajan allegedly passed this information to Corporal Suranga.
Following the Easter Sunday bombings, Rajan reportedly recognised the woman as Sara Jasmine after seeing television news coverage. However, when he subsequently informed Suranga of the identification, the corporal allegedly instructed him to remain silent, disregard what he had seen and forget the incident.
The Additional Solicitor General alleged that the suppression of this information had occurred with Sallay’s knowledge. These assertions were presented as part of the ongoing investigation and have not been established as judicial findings.
Peiris also outlined a separate allegation concerning the purported arrangement of a forged diplomatic passport for former LTTE member Karuna Amman to travel to the United Kingdom.
According to the prosecution, Karuna Amman had claimed that Sallay and another Army-linked individual identified as Ansar arranged the document. The passport was allegedly issued in the name of Kokila Dushmantha, purportedly a secretary at the Ministry of Environment. Investigators were said to have found that no such individual existed.
Karuna Amman was subsequently arrested in Britain, imprisoned and later returned to Sri Lanka.
The Additional Solicitor General further alleged that Sallay possessed several passports, adding that investigators intended to pursue the matter through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The allegations were disputed by Sallay’s legal team.
The CID has also recorded a statement from former Minister Douglas Devananda following information that he had introduced Azad Maulana, a key witness in the investigation, to the factions associated with Karuna Amman and Pillayan.
Appearing for Sallay, President’s Counsel Shavindra Fernando strongly challenged the prosecution’s case, arguing that investigators had not produced sufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations against his client.
Fernando maintained that the case relied on statements rather than adequate supporting evidence. He also questioned the claims regarding Sallay’s alleged possession of multiple passports, arguing that investigators should disclose the relevant passport numbers and explain how the documents were purportedly obtained.
The defence counsel further disputed the allegation concerning the passport allegedly arranged for Karuna Amman, claiming that Sallay was in France at the time and questioning how he could have organised the document in Sri Lanka while residing abroad.
During the hearing, Magistrate Amarasena also sought clarification on the investigation concerning former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is subject to an overseas travel ban in connection with the case but has not been named as a suspect.
The Magistrate referred to a motion submitted on behalf of Rajapaksa seeking the removal of the restriction to enable him to travel abroad for medical treatment.
In response, Peiris told the court that the investigation relating to the former President had reached an advanced stage. He explained that Rajapaksa had not been named as a suspect while inquiries involving other individuals remained ongoing and a case filed by the former President was pending before the Court of Appeal.
The Additional Solicitor General said Rajapaksa had requested permission to travel overseas for two weeks, until mid-November, for follow-up examinations and treatment following heart surgery at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. Peiris added that permission could be considered on humanitarian grounds if overseas treatment was required.
The court also heard an update on Sallay’s detention. Magistrate Amarasena said he had recently visited Sallay, who remains in CID custody, and that Sallay had told him he was being treated well by CID officers.
The Magistrate asked whether requests made by Sallay for certain food items had been accommodated. CID officers informed the court that the necessary arrangements had been made.
Attorney-at-Law Asith Siriwardhana, appearing for Sallay, said retaining his client in CID custody was preferable to transferring him to Welisara. He also thanked the Additional Solicitor General for facilitating medical treatment promptly when Sallay required hospitalisation.
Peiris informed the court that Sallay, who had spent 121 days in hospital, was now in better condition while remaining in CID custody.
After considering the submissions, Magistrate Amarasena granted the prosecution’s requests and ordered that the case be called again on November 25 for a further report on the progress of the investigations.
The proceedings have brought renewed attention to the continuing efforts to establish whether information relevant to the Easter Sunday attacks was withheld or mishandled, while the competing allegations and denials remain subject to investigation and judicial scrutiny.
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