News
Cardinal alleges 1,500 pages of evidence missing
Proceedings of Easter Sunday Commission given to church
by Norman Palihawadane
Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith says that over 1,500 pages containing evidence are missing from the soft copy of the report of Presidential Commission of Inquiry on Easter Sunday given to the Church by the government.
Speaking at the first meeting of the Archdiocesan Presbyterium at Archbishop’s House Conference Hall in Colombo last week, the Cardinal said that the government had given them the soft copy of the PCoI report in six CDs.
“After going through them by us and our lawyers we found that there are nearly 70,000 pages of the PCoI report. However, the government has kept to themselves over 1,500 pages. It is discernible that these missing pages contained evidence given by key witnesses such as Hadiya, wife of Zahran Hashim and Sarah Jesmin, one of the leading protagonists who had very close associations with the group of terrorists who exploded themselves at the Easter Sunday attacks,” the Cardinal said.
He said that the following many letters from the Church demanding the complete PCoI report, the government authorities released the six CDs and told the media that the report in its entirety was given to the Church.
“These ministers and officials keep on saying that 99 per cent of investigations are over and the Church has been appraised of the contents of the PCoI report. There is no truth in their statements. Now they have filed cases against 23 Muslims who had known Zahran and his team members. The government authorities are now trying to turn them to scapegoats while deliberately overlooking to investigate all aspects of the case,” the Cardinal said.
“This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Easter Sunday attack. In response to our continuous calls for a fresh, fair and independent investigation, government authorities have come up with plots to mislead the public. Besides no inquiry has been conducted, up until now, on new evidence emerging in the case like the statements made by witness Azad Moulana, the personal secretary of Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan.
“Moulana has alleged that Pillayan had been the go between who had assisted the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) to approach Zahran and his group. Moulana also affirmed that Zahran Group had received money through Pillayan from the DMI which was then headed by Suresh Saleh, who is the head of State Intelligence Service under the incumbent government.
“As per new evidence, there had been meetings between Saleh and Zahran and that a lorry load of suspicious materials was released without being checked on the orders of incumbent IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon at Gelanigama exit of the Southern Highway. The said lorry belonged to the Avant Garde Security Service closely connected to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Moulana has stated that the lorry presumably contained explosives,” the Cardinal said.Auxiliary Bishops Rt Rev Drs Anton Ranjith, Maxwell Silva and JD Anthony were also present att he head table with the Cardinal.
During an operation conducted in the dark hours of 22 Feb 26, the Sri Lanka Navy seized an Indian fishing boat and apprehended twelve (12) Indian fishermen while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters, in the sea area south of Mannar.
The seized boat and the Indian fishermen were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Dikovita for onward legal proceedings.
FSL assures legal backing for them
Families of those sentenced to death by the Three-member Gampaha High Trial-at-Bar, over the killing of SLPP MP Amarakeerthi Atukorale, and his police bodyguard, met a senior official of the Presidential Secretariat, yesterday (23), to seek backing for their move to appeal against the verdict.
Having made representations, they addressed the media, outside the Presidential Secretariat, where they declared their intention to move the higher court against the decision.
The SLPP MP and his security officer were killed by an Aragalaya mob on 09 May, 2022, at Nittambuwa. The same day Aragalaya mobs unleashed violence against the then government MPs across the country, torching dozens of their properties.
The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) yesterday said that they would help the families of those sentenced to death to move court against the Gampaha High Court Trial-at-Bar decision. Responding to The Island queries, FSP spokesman Pubudu Jayagoda said that their representatives had already met the families and necessary work was being done to move the Supreme Court. Twenty three persons were acquitted and four handed six-month prison terms, suspended for five years
Jayagoda said that one of the HC judges differed in the ruling. Asked whether they received backing from any other political party and groups that had been involved in the 2022 protest campaign to defend those who had been found guilty, Jayagoda said such support was lacking.
The JVP/NPP played a significant role in the violent protest campaign that forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down. Pointing out that the Attorney General, too, was appealing against the court decision on the basis that the number of persons sentenced to death should be much higher, Jayagoda said that the Nittambuwa incident couldn’t be examined in isolation without taking into consideration the SLPP goon attack on Galle Face protesters on 09 May, 2022. (SF)
Offshore Patrol Vessel P 628 of the Sri Lanka Navy departed Baltimore, USA, for Colombo, on 20 February.
The ex-United States Coast Guard Cutter, USCGC Decisive was officially handed over to the SLN on 02 December, 2025, as the latest addition to the SLN fleet, under the Pennant Number P 628.
Measuring 64 metres in length, this ‘B-Type Reliance Class 210-foot Cutter’ is equipped with advanced technological systems and facilities, capable of conducting extensive surveillance operations spanning up to 6,000 nautical miles per patrol.
The vessel’s voyage to Colombo is historic, possibly marking the longest-ever passage undertaken by a Sri Lanka Navy ship. Covering approximately 14,775 nautical miles, the journey will see the P 628 navigate from Baltimore through the Atlantic Ocean, the Panama Canal (a first for a Sri Lankan naval vessel), the Pacific Ocean, and into the Indian Ocean, via the Straits of Malacca. The ship is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka during the first week of May, 2026.
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Navy seize an Indian fishing boat poaching in Mannar seas
Fair weather will prevail except for showers in the Southern province and in Rathnapura, Monaragala and Kaluthara districts after 2.00 p.m
Families of those sentenced to death for killing MP Atukorale seek AKD’s intervention
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