The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court has ruled that Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Director Shani Abeysekara cannot be removed from the ongoing investigation into retired Major General Suresh Sallay, the former head of the State Intelligence Service.

The case, currently being heard before Magistrate Pasan Amarasena, has seen several applications including calls to exclude Abeysekara from the probe. 

Issuing a 23‑page order, the Magistrate rejected those requests, along with Sallay’s plea to be provided with writing materials and his request to make a confidential statement.

The court further directed that Sallay be produced for proceedings via video technology, underscoring the judiciary’s stance on maintaining continuity in the investigation. (Newswire)

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The Colombo Archdiocese has refuted claims that the Archbishop of Colombo had requested the reinstatement of former Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Director Shani Abeysekera and Retired Senior DIG Ravi Seneviratne to head the investigations by the current government into the 2019 Easter attacks.

Leader of the House, Minister Bimal Rathnayake, recently said in Parliament that Shani Abeysekera and Ravi Seneviratne were brought into the Police Force on the request of Archbishop, His Eminence, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith. 

Refuting the claims, Director of Communications for the Archdiocese of Colombo, Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando, told the media that no such request had been made from the President or any person by the Archbishop or the Colombo Archdiocese. 

Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando said that the team probing the Easter attacks was changed following the election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as President.

“During this change, Ravi Seneviratne retired, and Shani Abeysekara was arrested and remanded. The original team was completely changed and transferred. The probe into the Easter attacks stalled because of this,” he said. 

Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando clarified that a request was only made by the Colombo Archdiocese to include the previously transferred officers of the CID, who were involved in the initial probe, to the teams that are continuing the investigations into the Easter attacks. 

Pointing out that it is now evident that Shani Abeysekara was among those officers, Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando said, however, no request was made by specifically naming any individual, including Shani Abeysekara or Ravi Seneviratne. 

Director of Communications for the Archdiocese of Colombo, Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando, made the remarks while addressing the media today (21). (Newswire)

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The Director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), SSP S. Muthumala, has been appointed as the Director of the Bureau for the Prevention of Abuse of Children and Women.

According to the Sri Lanka Police, he is among five senior Police officers who were transferred with immediate effect.

The transfers have been issued with the approval of the National Police Commission. 

SSP Shani Abeysekera has been appointed as the Director of the CID, replacing SSP Muthumala. (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Namal Rajapaksa has raised concerns over the inclusion of Director of the Central Criminal Intelligence Analysis Bureau, SSP Shani Abeysekara, to the Police Committee appointed to study the Presidential Commission of Inquiry report on the 2019 Easter attacks.

Acting IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya, yesterday, appointed SSP Shani Abeysekara to the committee investigating the report, increasing its members from four to five.

SSP Shani Abeysekara has been added to the committee headed by SDIG Asanga Karawita, which also consists of the DIG of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Director of the CID, and the Director of the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID). 

Commenting on the inclusion, SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa said the appointment of Shani Abeysekara to the team of Police officers studying the PCoI Report on Easter Sunday attacks raises serious red flags.

Taking to ‘X’, he said it is completely inappropriate for someone who was not only involved in the original investigation but also named in the report and summoned as a witness to now be placed in a position of oversight.

MP Namal Rajapaksa pointed out that this is not merely a procedural misstep, but it was a breach of every ethical standard. 

“This casts a dark shadow over the credibility of the entire process. Justice must not only be done, but it must also be seen to be done. When public trust is already fragile, such decisions only deepen suspicion and disillusionment,” he said. 

Stating that Shani Abeysekara, as Director of the CID during the time of the attacks, was at the heart of the initial investigations, MP Rajapaksa said to now place him in a role that demands objectivity and detachment is ironic, and raises justifiable concern, especially when the report itself names him.

“Further compounding this issue are recent political statements made by Shani Abeysekara, clearly exposing his political biases. How can the public be expected to believe in the neutrality of this process when the person overseeing it has clear political entanglements?

“This is not a partisan issue. It is a matter of moral clarity and institutional integrity. The victims of the Easter attacks and the people of Sri Lanka deserve a process that is transparent, credible, and above all, fair. Anything less would be an injustice not only to those who suffered but to the very idea of accountability,” he added. 

On 20 April, under the directive of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the final report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Easter Sunday attacks was formally submitted to the CID. 

Following the submission, the Police appointed a four-member committee to study and conduct further investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks. (Newswire)

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The Institute of Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES) has raised concerns over the appointment of former Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Director Shani Abeysekera as the Director of the Central Criminal Intelligence Analysis Bureau.

Issuing a statement, the Executive Director of IRES, Manjula Gajanayake questioned the government’s appointment of Abeysekera, announced on October 10. 

Gajanayake pointed out that Abeysekara had joined a collective of retired police officers who actively campaigned for President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) at the last Presidential election.

He further said that Abeysekara had been appointed after the declaration of the upcoming parliamentary election. 

Gajanayake emphasized that even though Abeysekara was considered an efficient officer while in service, his appointment should have been announced after the conclusion of the General Election and the first session of the new Parliament. (Newswire)

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Former CID Director Shani Abeysekara has made explosive revelations about the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks and the investigation that followed. Speaking at the launch of a book written by journalist Sunanda Deshapriya, Abeysekara detailed how military intelligence allegedly misled the CID during critical stages of the investigation and raised serious concerns about potential financial ties between intelligence agencies and the attackers.

Abeysekara claimed the attacks, which killed over 250 people on April 21, 2019, were part of a well-orchestrated conspiracy rather than an isolated incident. Two significant cases of military intelligence provided false leads during the investigation, he said.

The first case Abeysekara said, was of the bomber who died in a suicide blast in Dehiwela, suggesting the bomber had connections with military intelligence, that were later concealed.

Secondly, Abeysekara addressed the 2018 Vavunathivu murders, prior to the Easter attacks, where military intelligence had allegedly framed the killings as being executed by the LTTE, even planting a military jacket to support their narrative. It was only after the CID arrested a suspect with weapons linked to the murders on April 25, did it become clear that the Zaharan Hashim group, responsible for the Easter attacks, was involved.

Abeysekara also claimed that a top military intelligence official had testified before the Presidential Commission investigating the Easter Sunday attacks, stating that some financial benefits had been provided to the group responsible by a Sri Lankan intelligence agency prior to attacks.

These financial ties need to be thoroughly investigated, Abeysekara stressed.

“On four occasions, the head of military intelligence insisted that the Vavunathivu murders were done by the LTTE,” Abeysekara said, raising questions about the true motive behind these misleading actions.

He went on to question as to why both the CID and former President Maithripala Sirisena were misled about key details of the investigation and criticized the Rajapaksa administration for obstructing the inquiry, after Gotabaya Rajapaksa assumed the presidency.

“Even before he (Gotabaya) appointed a Prime Minister, he transferred me from the investigation” Shani Abeysekara alleged.

Abeysekara expressed hope that the new government, led by the NPP, would prioritize a thorough investigation into these claims. “That is why I supported the NPP,” he said, stating that will be continue to be committed to transparency and accountability despite having never been involved in politics before. (Newswire)

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Former Director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Shani Abeysekera has revealed details concerning his arrest in July 2020 and his involvement in the inquiry against Dr. Shafi Shihabdeen of the Kurunegala Hospital.

Addressing the media today, Shani Abeysekera revealed that there were no cases against him in Sri Lanka’s courts at present and that the authorities had failed to file a case against him during his arrest.

“The authorities couldn’t even produce a charge sheet against me. I was imprisoned for 10 months and 18 days and provided meals under the expenditure of the then government,” he said. 

Shani Abeysekera was arrested in July 2020 and was charged under the Offensive Weapons Act and Explosives Devices Act related to the case of the murder of the late businessman Mohamed Shyam. 

On the inquiry against Dr. Shafi Shihabdeen of the Kurunegala Hospital, Shani Abeysekera said the CID had been entrusted with conducting an inquiry after allegations against the doctor had been published in the Divaina Newspaper on 24 May 2019.

He said the then IGP C. D. Wickremeratne had questioned how the information had reached a local newspaper and had instructed him to investigate how the newspaper had access to such information. 

“First, as it was necessary to investigate the news reporter, we had informed the journalist to report to the CID on 26 May. However, on 25 May, the IGP questioned me as to how Dr. Shafi was arrested when it was the CID that was entrusted with the inquiry,” he said.

According to Abeysekera, the IGP had then instructed the CID to launch an inquiry into the entire issue involving Dr. Shafi, and not just the newspaper report. 

“Upon requesting the IGP to amend the fax with these instructions accordingly, Dr. Shafi who was arrested by the Police was taken into CID custody and investigations were launched,” he said. 

Stating that at the time, the CID team was only aware of allegations regarding sterilization and that they were unaware of the medical definitions, he said they had deemed information insufficient to conduct the inquiry. 

Abeysekera said, therefore, steps were taken to obtain an order from the Kurunegala Magistrate’s Court to receive the services of a specialist team to provide advice and recommendations on the matter. 

“Based on the court order, a specialist team was appointed consisting of the Chief Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Anil Tennakoon, and Specialists Ruwan Pathirane and Ms. Karunasekera. The CID team conducting the inquiry had met the specialists to be briefed on the term sterilization and other details related to the allegations,” he said. 

Shani Abeysekera added that the inquiry had been conducted against Dr. Shafi based on these recommendations and briefings provided by the specialist team, including on menstruation, fertile period, and sterilization of women. 

In May 2019, Dr. Shafi Sihabdeen was sent on compulsory leave and arrested after being accused of performing illegal sterilization operations at the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital. 

Dr. Shafi was also accused of having amassed wealth illegally and maintaining links with a terrorist organization but was later released from the case with the Attorney General’s Department dropping all charges against him. (Newswire)

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The Court of Appeal was informed on Monday (Dec 04) of an alleged conspiracy to murder former Director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Shani Abeysekera, it was reported. 

According to reports, the Attorney General had informed the court that the State Intelligence Service had uncovered information related to a conspiracy to kill Abeysekera in a car accident.

The court was informed in this regard when the writ petition filed by Shani Abeysekera, seeking an order instructing the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and other respondents to provide sufficient security for him due to life threats, was taken up for consideration. 

The Attorney General’s statement was conveyed by the Additional Solicitor General to the Court of Appeal two-judge bench consisting of justices Nisshanka Bandula Karunaratne and Vikum Kaluarachchi. 

The court had previously issued an order to the Victims and Witnesses Protection Authority to submit a report on the nature of the threats against Shani Abeysekera.

The Additional Solicitor General submitted to the court yesterday the report by the Victims and Witnesses Protection Authority related to the threats to Shani Abeysekera. 

The report confirmed that there were threats to the life of Abeysekera and also revealed details of the conspiracy to kill him in a car accident.

Pointing out that only an old motorcycle and three Police Officers have been allocated for security, the lawyer representing Abeysekera informed the court that insufficient security has been provided to his client at present. 

He further alleged that although the Victims and Witnesses Protection Authority had issued an order to the IGP to provide adequate protection to the petitioner, it has not been fulfilled so far.

Taking into consideration all the facts presented, the Court of Appeal Judge Bench ordered the case to be convened on December 14 to issue an appropriate order regarding the petition. (NewsWire)

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Retired SSP Shani Abeysekara has filed a case at the Colombo District Court seeking compensation of Rs. 1 billion from four senior police officers for his wrongful arrest and prosecution.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) C.D. Wickramaratne, Senior Deputy Inspector General (SDIG) in charge of the Western Province Deshabandu Tennakoon, IP Jagath Nishantha and ASP Neville Silva from the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD), and the Attorney General have been cited as respondents in the case.

Through the case, Abeysekara has accused the officers of the CCD of allegedly having framed him by fabricating evidence related to the case filed in connection to the murder of the late businessman Mohamed Shyam. 

Claiming that the investigation in this regard had been conducted under the instructions of the IGP and SDIG Tennakoon, Abeysekara alleged that the two officers from the CDD had been threatened to make false statements against him. 

Stating that based on the statements he had been arrested and remanded after being produced before the Gampaha Court, Abeysekara said he had been released on the orders of the Attorney General months later. 

Abeysekara pointed out that he has sought compensation from the four Police officers for misusing the court process and causing grievances to him.

Earlier, Abeysekara had also sent a letter of demand to the four senior police officers, alleging that the respondents had victimized him and abused the court process.

Shani Abeysekara was arrested in July 2020 and was charged under the Offensive Weapons Act and Explosives Devices Act.

Abeysekara, the former senior superintendent of police who headed the CID, was accused of fabricating evidence in the case against former DIG Vaas Gunawardena, his son and four other police officers related to the murder of late businessman Mohamed Shyam in 2013.

The Court of Appeal discharged Abeysekara from the case in August this year, prompting the Attorney General to withdraw the charges filed against him. (NewsWire)

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Former Director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Shani Abeysekara and Sub-inspector Sugath Mendis have been discharged from the Gampaha Magistrate’s Court proceedings pertaining to a case involving ex-DIG Vaas Gunawardena.

According to reporters, the Gampaha Magistrate today discharged all four suspects, following submissions made by the Attorney General’s Department and counsel on behalf of the suspects, and despite objections by the Colombo Crimes Division. 

Shani Abeysekara, the former senior superintendent of police who headed the CID, is accused of fabricating evidence in the case against former DIG Vaas Gunawardena, his son and four other police officers.

DIG Vaas Gunawardena was convicted and sentenced to death for the abduction and murder of Colombo-based businessman Mohamed Shiyam as a contract killing for $50,000 in May 2013.

Abeysekara was arrested in July 2020 and was charged under the Offensive Weapons Act and Explosives Devices Act for fabricating evidence in the investigation related to former DIG Vaas Gunawardena. (NewsWire)

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