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Easter Carnage: Ringleader Zahran held ties with Army Intelligence?

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Ravi Seneviratne, former Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was summoned to the Department yesterday (21) morning and questioned for over 05 hours related to the Easter Sunday Carnage.

During the interrogation, Seneviratne unravelled the ties between Zahran Hashim, the ringleader of the pack of suicide bombers responsible for the massacre, and the Army Intelligence units, sources closer to the Police Headquarters divulged.

The former senior DIG also revealed that the Army Intelligence had deliberately misled the CID by producing false information about extremist Islam organisations in Sri Lanka, and that the manner in which they had dealt with the suicide bomber in Dehiwala was suspicious, the sources added.

Seneviratne had previously produced statements before the Malalgoda Commission and the Parliament Select Committee (PSC) appointed to probe the massacre. His statement before the Special Presidential Commission was obtained for more than 14 hours.

Seneviratne was appointed as the Chief of the CID in 2012 and acted as the Senior DIG in charge of the Department until his retirement on December 31, 2019.

Meanwhile, Reverend Father Cyril Gamini speaking to the briefing held in the House of the Archbishop yesterday (21) questioned whether the truth behind the Carnage was still being concealed after 32 months of its occurrence due to the alleged involvement of the President and the current government.

In his statement, Fr. Gamini added that what can be seen is an act of covering the truth up and that it would be a question as to why there were no attempts being made to uncover the truth, if neither the President nor the government has any involvement.

He reminded that two commission reports had been submitted regarding the attack and that the government should be held accountable for wasting public funds if it did not implement the recommendations revealed in the report along with the names of those responsible for the massacre.

Had the names of those involved been announced at a preface, the truth behind the attack would be revealed to the world, Fr. Gamini emphasised.

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