Colombo: Sri Lanka’s president announced an investigation into allegations made by a British TV documentary that his current spy chief was complicit in the country’s worst attack against civilians. Ranil Wickremesinghe said he was naming a retired Supreme Court judge to probe accusations that Suresh Sallay, the head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), orchestrated the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.
The documentary aired this week featured a political insider who accused Sallay of complicity in the bombings by Islamist extremists at three churches and three hotels, which killed 279 people including 45 foreigners. “As the nation grapples with the legacy of this tragic event, President Wickremesinghe’s actions represent a determined effort to uncover the truth and ensure accountability in the face of grave allegations,” his office said. It said the findings of the new inquiry would be referred to a parliamentary panel for action.
Media interviewed a man who said he arranged a meeting between a local Islamic State-inspired group, National Thowheed Jamath, and a top state intelligence official to hatch a plot to create insecurity in Sri Lanka and help the presidential election later that year.
A group of Sri Lankans inspired by the Islamic State group carried out the suicide bombings on April 21, 2019. Fears over national security enabled Gotabaya Rajapaksa to sweep to power until he was forced to resign in mid-2022 after mass protests over the country’s worst economic crisis. Maulana told Channel 4 that he himself did not participate in the meeting, but that the intelligence officer told him later that creating insecurity was the only way to return the Rajapaksa family to power.