Easter Sunday attacks a conspiracy planned since 2017 – Public Security Minister

Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala has claimed that ongoing investigations have uncovered that the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks were not an isolated incident, but a result of a conspiracy that had been in motion since 2017.  

Delivering a statement in Parliament today (09), the Minister revealed that the Easter attacks were the result of a series of coordinated and systematically executed events carried out over several years by the same group, the Minister said. 

He said investigations have linked multiple incidents leading up to the attacks, including:

• The destruction caused to Buddha statues in Mawanella on December 22 and 23, 2017.
• The killing of police officers in Vavunathivu on November 30, 2018.
• The arrest of four suspects along with explosives and detonators at a camp in Wanathawilluwa on January 16, 2019.
• The shooting of an individual named ‘Thasleem’ in the Mawanella area on March 10, 2019.
• A motorcycle explosion in the Palamunai area of Kattankudy, Batticaloa, on April 16, 2019.
• The coordinated Easter Sunday attacks on April 21, 2019.

Accordingly, the Minister stated that investigations have revealed that these incidents form a chain of interconnected events, clearly indicating a long-term organized conspiracy.

Additionally, he stated that former Head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay, has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the conspiracy and for aiding and abetting the Easter Sunday attacks.

However, he said that Suresh Sallay had previously been named as the first witness in the Easter Sunday attack court proceedings, he was taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) following a complaint lodged on October 11, 2024.    

He stated that two cases related to the matter have already been filed before the Court of Appeal.

The minister claimed that investigations have uncovered that the former Head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay, had prior knowledge of extremist activities linked to Islamic militants before the attacks. 

He further claimed that Sallay failed to take necessary action to prevent or disclose such activities, thereby allowing the attacks to take place.

Additionally, he said it is suspected that he may have directly or indirectly acted to prevent the exposing of individuals and groups responsible for orchestrating the attacks after they occurred.

Based on these findings, he stated that sufficient grounds existed to reasonably suspect his involvement in unlawful activities related to the conspiracy and support behind the Easter Sunday attacks, leading to his arrest.

He also stated that findings indicate that former State Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, alias ‘Pillayan’, had prior knowledge of the attacks.

He further emphasized that evidence has been uncovered pointing to the existence of an individual and a group who had operated above Zahran Hashim, and had allegedly directed his actions.

The Minister also noted that if proper investigations had been conducted into the Vavunathivu police officers’ killings, the Easter Sunday attacks could have potentially been prevented.