‘No secret that I visited Pillayan in prison’: Namal responds to accusations over Easter attacks

The National Organizer of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa, has responded to accusations related to the Easter Sunday attacks’ probe stating that it is no secret that he visited Sivasathurai Chandrakanthan, alias ‘Pillayan’, while the latter was in prison during the 2018/2019 period.

Rajapaksa made this statement in a post on his ‘X’ account, after his name was mentioned during today’s court proceedings when the progress of investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks was reported to the court by the Attorney General’s Department.

Former Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), Suresh Sallay, who is currently being detained by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), was produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court today.

Sallay was arrested by the CID in February in connection with investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks and has since been detained and interrogated under the PTA while investigations continue.

Appearing on behalf of the CID before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court, Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris stated that the Easter Sunday terrorist attack had been carried out under the direction of Suresh Sallay with the aim of targeting an election, and claimed that he is the actual ‘mastermind’ of the attack.

He further presented the progress of investigations to the court and stated that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, former Minister Basil Rajapaksa, and MP Namal Rajapaksa had visited the Batticaloa Prison after the Easter attacks and met with ‘Pillayan’.

In response to this claim, MP Namal Rajapaksa posted on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) stating that it is no secret that he visited Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) leader Sivasathurai Chandrakanthan alias ‘Pillayan’ while he was in prison in 2018/19, adding that prison records of his visits are available. 

He further stated that at the time Pillayan was part of the political alliance contesting both the 2015 Presidential Election and the 2018 Local Government Elections.

Namal Rajapaksa also questioned reports that the CID allegedly travelled to France to investigate the Easter Sunday attack, stating that this raises concerns about the government’s priorities, and added that if officers travelled there only to confirm his visit to meet Pillayan, it is clearly “a waste of public funds”. 

He further stated that, to his knowledge, Pillayan is not currently being detained in connection with the Easter attacks and questioned who the government is trying to convince with such “media spectacles”.

Namal Rajapaksa added that the NPP has presented different narratives about the Easter attacks at different times and warned that if the government is using the tragedy to target political opponents, it would be “deeply unfair to the victims and their families, who still deserve genuine answers and justice.”

He further stated that they are ready to face any fair inquiry and will fully cooperate with the CID to clarify any doubts openly and transparently, adding that the government should focus on delivering meaningful results for the people of the country instead of “political drama and media headlines.”