brand logo

Easter Attack investigation: Harin, Manusha hint at major cover up

21 Apr 2021

  • Intel officer nabbed by Shani taken by Army: Harin

  • Questions transfers of CID officers

  •  Johnston requests both to complain to CID, not hide behind P’ment privilege

  Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarians Manusha Nanayakkara and Harin Fernando made several allegations in Parliament yesterday (20) concerning the ongoing probe into the Easter Sunday terror attacks, including an insinuation that officials from the military were involved in cover up activities. Nanayakkara said that the then Inspector General (IG) of Police Pujith Jayasundara had revealed that officers of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) had a link to one of the bombers. “One Jameel was supposed to explode the bomb at the Taj Samudra Hotel but he could not do so. Therefore he went and exploded it at the Tropical Inn Lodge in Dehiwala. Prior to exploding this bomb, two officers from the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) visited his house. They went because they knew that Jameel was involved. The then Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara had given information regarding this. Has an investigation been done on this person? We do not know,” he said. SJB MP Fernando claimed that that the former Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Director Senior Superintendent of Police Shani Abeysekara had arrested and was to question an intelligence officer who was connected to the Easter Sunday bombings, but that this had not been included in the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) report on the Easter attacks. “Abeysekara had traced the links between the intelligence officer and the Easter Sunday attackers through an Internet protocol (IP) address. The intelligence officer had been arrested and was to be questioned by the CID.” Fernando claimed that military intelligence had then ordered the officer in question to be transferred to their custody. He said that this information had been revealed at the hearings conducted by the PCoI but had not been included in the report of the Commission. He also exposed the names of several CID officers who he claimed were transferred to other departments simply because they were about to make breakthroughs in the probe. “CID officers involved in the investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks have been transferred while Abeysekara was also transferred to the position of a peon soon after the Presidential Election, and later arrested,” he said.   THIS PART IS NEW. (PROOFED)  Nanayakkara also raised a point about the Zahran from Matale (not a reference to Zahran Hashim), an SIS officer going by the alias Sonic-Sonic, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Islamic State (IS) Leader at the time. “Thirdly, the Matale Zahran came from Qatar. Sonic-Sonic, as identified by his code name in the SIS, went to meet him and asked him as to why Al-Baghdadi still had not accepted responsibility for these attacks. He replied saying that it was because the oath has not been uploaded yet. Then a phone call had been made to Indonesia. Afterwards, the message had been given and informed to Al-Baghdadi that it would be uploaded. He had told Sonic-Sonic that it would be uploaded. Only after it was uploaded did Al-Baghdadi accept the responsibility.” Speaking further, Nanayakkara alleged that one of the bombers’ wives, Pulasthini Rajendran alias Sarah Jasmine, is still alive and that she had fled to India with the help of a TID officer. “Minister of Public Security Dr. Sarath Weerasekera said that he is not happy regarding one of the bombers’ wives, Pulasthini Rajendran alias Sarah Jasmine, saying that a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test would have to be done. There were 19 in the house in Sainthamaruthu at the time of the attacks, out of which 16 died. From the 16 who died, no one’s DNA matched with the samples of Sarah’s mother. That means that nobody was related to Sarah. One Arjun Mahinkandar told the police that Sarah is still among the living and that he is capable of providing proof that Sarah fled to India through boat. Then why is Weerasekera trying to hide this evidence? Why is he saying that there is no evidence? The Police officer, Abu Bakar, who helped in this is currently a high up officer of the TID. Even when all of that is revealed, they are trying to sweep this under the rug.”   (PROOFED)   He also mentioned a person referred to as “boss” by the attackers, and that investigations should focus on discovering the identity of this person. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that the terrorists discussed things using the Trima App. A few days before the attacks, they split into two groups. In their conversations they had said that their boss was unhappy that the attack was delayed. They said their boss wants it carried out soon. We are asking who is this boss. We were in the Government then. This Government sold the tears of Easter Sunday to come to power. They are responsible for finding out who this boss is.” A heated debate ensued in Parliament, with Government members accuseing both Fernando and Nanayakkara of misleading the Parliament. Chief Government Whip and Minister Johnston Fernando alleged that the Opposition MPs are attempting to mislead the public regarding the Easter attacks by using Parliamentary privileges inside the Chamber. “You are making various statements regarding the Easter Sunday terror attacks in the Chamber without any proof because you know that you have Parliamentary privileges. You even quoted some statements which are not included in the PCoI report in the Chamber. How did you obtain such statements? Why didn’t you complain about this to the CID in the first place? As a result of this behaviour inside the Chamber, misinformation regarding the terror attacks will spread in society,” Fernando asserted. However, Nanayakkara replied saying that “all of these were revealed in the PCoI report.”  


More News..