Colombo
Former Sri Lankan minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan appeared before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Wednesday to provide a statement regarding the alleged involvement of certain state officials in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. Chandrakanthan, who had been asked to appear before the CID last week, had previously sought a postponement citing the timing of the November 14 parliamentary elections.
Chandrakanthan lost the election from the Batticaloa district after the National Peoples’ Power (NPP) party secured a landslide victory. The NPP government, following the September presidential election, promised to reopen the investigation into the bombings, which has faced criticism from the Catholic Church for being a coverup since its inception in 2019.
A documentary by UK Channel 4 aired last year revealed claims from Azad Moulana, a confidant of Chandrakanthan, alleging that state officials had contact with the leader of the local jihadi group responsible for the attacks. The bombings, carried out by suicide bombers, targeted churches and tourist hotels, killing 270 people, including foreigners.
Chandrakanthan, then a state minister, denied the allegations, stating that Moulana made the claims to bolster his asylum case after fleeing the country. A probe ordered by then-President Ranil Wickremesinghe into the Channel 4 documentary’s claims found several flaws in the original investigations.
