CID Informs Court of Rohan Gunaratne’s Prison Meetings With Pillayan as Easter Probe Deepens

COLOMBO (News 1st); New revelations presented before the Fort Magistrate’s Court have disclosed that Professor Rohan Gunaratne met former Chief Minister and former State Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, also known as Pillayan, on three occasions while Pillayan was in prison, as investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks continue to uncover long‑hidden details.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) informed court that according to testimony given by a person who was imprisoned alongside Pillayan, Professor Gunaratne had visited and met him three times at the Batticaloa Prison.

The CID further revealed that two women had accompanied Professor Gunaratne during these visits, and that one of the women was later directly recruited into the Sri Lanka Army with the rank of Major.

These disclosures were made in the context of the wider investigation into the Easter Sunday terror attacks of April 21, 2019, which killed 278 innocent people and left nearly 500 others permanently disabled.

Victims included men, women, and children who had gone to pray on Easter Sunday, as well as unarmed civilians spending a peaceful morning at three luxury hotels in Colombo, some of whom were having breakfast at the time of the attacks.

Seven years after the coordinated bombings, questions remain over the purpose behind the mass killing and who ultimately wanted the crime to be carried out.

Several cases related to the attacks are currently being heard in court, including a case now at a decisive stage of investigation before the Fort Magistrate’s Court.

That case concerns three suspects: former Director of State Intelligence, retired Major General Suresh Salley, Yassin Bawa Jegilpas, and Sarath Samantha. In connection with these proceedings, the CID submitted a further investigation report to court yesterday, describing what it said was an extremely serious disclosure.

The latest revelations also revisit claims made in the Channel 4 documentary on the Easter Sunday attacks, which alleged that Pillayan was behind the attacks based on statements by his former personal secretary, Azad Maulana. According to the CID’s latest progress report, further information has now emerged regarding Pillayan.

Pillayan had been held at the Batticaloa Prison from January 3, 2015 until 2021 in connection with charges relating to the assassination of former Parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham.

The CID told court that the new disclosures come from evidence provided by a fellow inmate during that period.

Following the Easter Sunday attacks, Professor Rohan Gunaratne published a book titled Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday Massacre and consistently maintained that the Islamic State (ISIS) was responsible for the attacks.

Meanwhile, CID investigation reports further reveal that Zahran Hashim’s brother, Zeini Maulavi, a member of the National Thowheed Jamaath, along with another individual named Milhan, were brought by Pillayan to the same prison ward where he was detained. The witness stated that whenever he approached the location where the three were engaged in conversation, they would change the subject.

Pillayan was recently re‑arrested by the CID and is currently being held in remand custody.

After Channel 4 broadcast allegations by Azad Maulana that Pillayan was behind the Easter Sunday attacks, Pillayan himself went on to publish a book addressing the attacks.

As the investigations and judicial proceedings continue through what authorities describe as an extremely complex process, officials say further grave revelations are expected to emerge in the days ahead.

News First sought a response from Professor Rohan Gunaratne regarding the matter.

He said that he would need to study the issue before providing a response.