Retired DIG says Easter Sunday carnage could have been prevented
Mawanella, along the Colombo – Kandy road, was where the IS backed Muslim extremists made their debut as the godfathers of violence and terror.
As far back as December 23 and 26, last year, they launched a campaign to create ethnic disharmony by damaging Buddha statues. If they got away with the first attack, the second in the tiny village of Lindula saw civilians rounding up two attackers at night.
Teams from the Mawanella Police scoured the area in the next two days. Five more Muslim youth between the ages of 20 and 28 were arrested. Their statements were recorded. That laid bare that three most wanted persons were at large – Zahran Hashim, described as the leader, from Kattankudy, two brothers Sadiq Abdulla and Saheed Abdul Haq from Mawanella. The latter were later arrested and Zahran died in the suicide bomb attack on Shangri La Hotel. It came to light that those arrested had links with a foreign organisation. Hashim had preached them to kill all “infidels” or non-Muslims and attack their places of worship.
Unable to find Zahran in Mawanella, a Police team went to Kattankudy. The Sunday Times has seen a letter given to Inspector A.G. Amerapala of the Police team in Tamil. Under her official seal and signature, Ms M.C.S. Fasmilla, Grama Niladhari, New Kattankudy South, said, Zahran had not been living in her area. He had gone missing. Yet, intelligence officials in Colombo knew he was posting messages on his Facebook. The Mawanella Police reported facts to court and the suspects were remanded. With the lack of wherewithal, the Police then asked the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to further probe the case.
Palitha Siriwardena, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) was in charge of the Kegalle Police Division until June 3, till just two weeks ago. He spoke exclusively to the Sunday Times of the events that followed. “My conscience does not allow me to remain silent in retirement when more than 250 innocent lives have been lost and nearly 500 were injured. If there was prompt action over our findings, the Easter
Sunday carnage could have been prevented. The Public have a right to know how it failed and who failed it,” he lamented.
Siriwardena said after the CID took over, detectives investigated deeper into what Police unearthed. They established that a foreign organisation was funding the local group. They were operating on several mobile phones. The locals had large sums of money in bank accounts. “I had conferences regularly with all the Police teams. Thereafter, I reported them in detail to Senior DIG in charge of the Sabaragamuwa Range (Ravi Wijegunawardena). He in turn kept the Inspector General of Police (Pujith Jayasundera) informed both through phone calls and in several reports,” said Mr Siriwardena. Hence, the IGP was aware, much ahead of the April 9 intelligence warnings, that a serious situation was developing,” he charged.
A letter from DIG Wijegunawardena dated January 14 2019 to then Police Chief Pujith Jayasundera, a copy of which was obtained by the Sunday Times confirms this assertion. Here are highlights of the Sinhala letter translated to English:
Regarding the investigations carried out about the damages made to the Buddha Statues in Mawanella police area
“With reference to your letter regarding above subject dated 2019.01.09.
“Referring to the subject, there is a report handed over to me by the Deputy Inspector General/ Kegalle regarding an investigation carried out about the letter issued by President of Mawanella Masjid, Dr Hameed A Azeez who is residing at Masjidul Hudah, Hinguloya, Mawanella.
“According to the report, there were four Buddha statues situated in Mawanella police area, Kegalle police division have been damaged by an organized group on 2018.12.22 and 2018.12.26. There have been 07 Muslim suspects arrested for damaging the statues arrested and produced in Mawanella Magistrate Courts. They were remanded until 2019.01.16 (case number M/U 11330/18)
“Apart from that, there was a revelation that the arrested were also linked to incidents in damaging Buddhist, Hindu and Christian statues in Peradeniya, Welamabada and Pothuhera police areas. The two main suspects had fled the area. Special police units are deployed to arrest them.
“Investigations conducted so far have revealed seven Muslim suspects and two Muslim suspects who are to be arrested have co-ordinated their actions through mobile telephones. This has been confirmed by phone records. People of the area believe that there can be foreign or local connection influencing the attacks on the statues.
“The report also points out that there must be in depth investigations carried out to find out whether there are local and international groups linked to this. In order to do that the mobile data information of the suspects and bank accounts as well as other assets must be subjected to investigations.
“However, the officials of the divisional police stations do not have the required special training or the needed equipment to carry out in- depth investigations to analyze mobile data or check bank accounts. This has hindered the investigation to find out who are the ones behind damaging of religious statues.
“However, the Buddhist monks and the Buddhist community are in high alert to learn about the organizations and international organizations. They thoroughly believe that the parties that are involved would be involved through police investigations. It had been reported that somehow if that trust on the police is lost there will be issues of racism and spark religious hatred.
“The Criminal Investigation Department, Terrorism Investigation Department and Government Intelligence are trained and equipped to carryout prior mentioned investigations into mobile data, report on verified data and Bank account reports.
“According to the facts presented I would agree with the recommendation made by DIG of Kegalle. Therefore, I send you page 01 to 07 of the file along with this report.”
Retired DIG Siriwardena revealed that it was on the basis of information obtained from suspects arrested by the Mawanella Police that the CID raided the IS backed extremist Muslim group’s operational base in Lactose Watta, Vanathavillu in the Puttalam District on January 16. “There they found materials to manufacture bombs, as lethal as the ones they used during the Easter Sunday carnage. There were 100 kilos of explosives, six 35 kilo cans of nitric acid among the items found.
Even here, the name of Zahran transpired as the leader,” he said.
He said CID detectives arrested four suspects and detention orders were issued on them for four months duration each under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). “Two of them were later released by the CID with three conditions imposed on them. They were told that they should live in the same address as before, they cannot have any contacts with the extremists, they should report every month on a Monday to the CID headquarters between 9 a.m. and 12 noon and, report within 72 hours after being summoned. “This is very unusual. It is only the Courts that places such bail conditions. We were told there was political pressure.” Siriwardena said. Is it because a leading politician claimed that the persons be released claiming the two were carrying food? he asked. He noted that the investigators took their safeguards and released the two. No one has so far been indicted in this case involving the base.
Siriwardena also made an allegation against the former Western Province Governor Azath Sally. This was when three teams from the Mawanella Police were investigating the matter. He said: “I had a telephone call from the IGP (Pujith Jayasundera) asking me whether we had arrested Sadiq Abdulla and Shaheed Abdul Haq. I said “no.” He then asked me to get my Assistant Superintendent of Police ASP (Gamini Tennekoon) to telephone Azath Sally, the Western Province Governor. Later, ASP Tennekoon reported to me that he had spoken to the former Governor. The Governor had told him that Moulavi Thamsin would come over to the Police and surrender Sadiq Abdulla and Shaheed Abdul Haq and to await them. However, the ASP later said they never turned up.”
At a progress review meeting with the investigation teams, SP, ASPs and Inspectors on December 31 2018, retired DIG Siriwardena said “I raised this telephone call matter again. Whilst all of them watched, I took a telephone call during the conference to Mr Sally. All others were witnesses and will testify at any inquiry. I told him that the two wanted persons have not surrendered. He replied he had told Moulavi Thamsin about it. Whilst Mr Sally was still on the line, I took a conference call to this Moulavi. The first question he asked me ‘what is the status of the investigation now?’ I could not have told him that. I cut the line and told the teams to look for the suspects.”
“Who is this Police bu….r? He does not know protocol. I told the IGP Pujith Jayasundera that the All Ceylon Jamiyathul Ulema (ACJU) had spoken to me. They also wanted me to speak to the Defense Secretary too,” exhorted Mr Sally when asked to comment.
He said “The Police are turning what I said into something else. Whoever is saying this is connected to (mentions the name of a leading opposition left wing politician). Every police DIG is working with ‘Pohottuwa.’ They are into anti Muslim activity and they are creating the anti-Muslim feelings, anti -Muslim phobia” Before more questions could be posed, including one on why he interfered with the Police investigation, that too outside his province, he rang off.