President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Parliament yesterday that a renewed investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks is now underway, stressing that previous attempts to uncover the truth were deliberately obstructed when political groups suspected of involvement assumed power.
The President said investigators are currently analysing phone records, connections, and other technical data to identify the masterminds behind the attacks, adding that evidence must be re-established in court after years of suppression.
He said the Easter Attacks should have been investigated when memories and evidence were still fresh, but the process stalled due to political interference.
According to the President, key evidence was tampered with or destroyed, including cases where “pages were torn from books,” while nearly 500 CID officers were issued travel bans during the previous administration. Several senior investigators were removed, transferred, or jailed, including former CID Director Shani Abeysekara, he noted.
The President said the same pattern of interference had affected other high-profile cases such as the murders of Lasantha Wickrematunge, rugby player Wasim Thajudeen, and cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda, where investigations were launched many years after the incidents.
Despite the challenges, he expressed confidence that the current investigative teams would independently and professionally pursue the Easter Attack probe and bring the culprits before the law. (Newswire)