21 August 2020 12:00 am Views - 154
Witness testifies before PCoI investigating Easter Sunday bombings
By Yoshitha Perera
The State Intelligence Service (SIS) informed former IGP Pujith Jayasundara on April 19,2019 about the Eastern Province Police not conducting effective investigation with regard to bicycle bomb explosion that took place in Kattankudy on April 16, 2019, asking him to handover the inquiry to Criminal Investigation Department (CID), former SIS Director SDIG Nilantha Jayawardena informed PCoI yesterday that is probing Easter Sunday attacks.
There had been a bicycle bomb explosion in Kattankudy on April 16, 2019, believed to be rehearsal conducted by National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) Leader Zahran before conducting the coordinated terror attacks on April 21, 2019, SDIG Jayawardena informed the Commission.
Mr.Jayawardena said that he had informed former Chief of National Intelligence (CNI) Sisira Mendis and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando about the bicycle bomb blast, supposed to be a dry run conducted by Zahran.
“Although I informed CNI and Defence Secretary, they had not contacted me and asked me to furnish further information with regard to relevant explosion,” he said. However, former Criminal Investigation Division OIC of the Kattankudy Police Station M. P. M. Mohammed Jesuli testifying before the Commission said that the inquiry with regard to bicycle bomb explosion was transferred to the CID on April 26, 2019 by former IGP Pujith Jayasundara.