Rejects report by “politically motivated committee led by a judge once dismissed for irregularities”

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The government would not remove Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security, retired Senior Deputy Inspector General (SDIG) Ravi Seneviratne or retired Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shani Abeysekara from the investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks because of a report prepared by a politically motivated committee led by a judge who was once dismissed for irregularities, Cabinet spokesperson Vijitha Herath yesterday (22) told the post-Cabinet press briefing.

Leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU), Udaya Gammanpila, and those aligned with him, were calling for the removal of Seneviratne and Abeysekara from the Easter Sunday investigations because they feared the truth about the attacks would come out, Herath said.

“One of the first actions Gotabaya Rajapaksa took after becoming President was to remove Abeysekara from the investigation into the Easter attacks. It is clear why Gammanpila, a former Minister in Gotabaya’s government, who remained silent about the attacks for five years, is now demanding the removal of Seneviratne and Abeysekara,” Herath remarked.

Minister Herath said then-President Maithripala Sirisena had appointed two commissions to investigate the Easter Sunday attacks: a special three-member committee headed by Supreme Court (SC) Justice Vijith Malalgoda, and a five-member commission chaired by Supreme Court Justice Janak de Silva. Neither of those comprehensive commissions found Seneviratne or Abeysekara guilty of any negligence, he noted.

“In addition, in 2023, a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court considered several fundamental rights applications and ordered former President Maithripala Sirisena, former IGP Pujith Jayasundera, and the head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), Nilantha Jayawardena, among others, to pay compensation to the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks. Shani Abeysekara’s name was not even mentioned in the proceedings. While Ravi Seneviratne’s name was mentioned, the court found no fault with him. Therefore, two presidential commissions and a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court did not find the two officers guilty,” Minister Herath said.

Minister Herath pointed out that former President Ranil Wickremesinghe had appointed a committee, led by High Court Judge Adambarage Nilanthi Jayaki de Alwis, on 12 June 2024, just three days after Seneviratne and Abeysekara pledged their support for the National People’s Power (NPP).

“On 9 June 2024, we established an association of retired police officers in support of the presidential election, with Seneviratne and Abeysekara as members. Following this, National Security Advisor to President Wickremesinghe, Sagala Ratnayaka, approached Seneviratne and asked him to leave the NPP and join Wickremesinghe’s team. When Seneviratne refused, Wickremesinghe appointed a committee, chaired by retired High Court Judge Alwis, to investigate whether the police and the SIS had failed to prevent the Easter Sunday attacks,” Herath said.

The Cabinet spokesperson also said Wickremesinghe had established another committee, chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice S. I. Imam, to investigate allegations made in a Channel 4 documentary regarding military intelligence. These committees were expected to submit their reports by September 2024, and Herath claimed the Wickremesinghe administration intended to use these reports for political gain ahead of the presidential election. However, the Alwis report was handed over to Wickremesinghe at his Flower Road residence on 17 September, and to the Presidential Secretariat on 18 September, during the moratorium on campaigning prior to polling on September 21, Herath said.

“Let’s take a look at the Alwis committee report that Gammanpila is promoting. We are now conducting a fresh investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks, and we will review both the Alwis and Imam reports to determine if there is anything useful in them. However, this doesn’t change the fact that these committees were appointed for political reasons,” he commented.

Herath said former Kegalle High Court Judge Alwis, who retired in September 2023, had previously requested an appointment to the Court of Appeal.

“The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) provided a report on her request, revealing that Alwis joined the service on 1 July 1998 but was terminated by the JSC on 27 April 2000 due to irregularities during her probation period. On the same day, Alwis appealed, and the JSC allowed her to resign on 4 June 2000. Despite this, she was taken into the judicial service six years later without any claim to seniority from her previous tenure. This is the person who led the committee investigating Seneviratne and Abeysekara,” Herath said.

The Cabinet spokesperson also noted that the Alwis report mentioned former IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon, though Gammanpila had failed to reference this. “We will not accept a commission report that was politically motivated and led by a judge with a dubious record. I hadn’t planned to disclose this information about Alwis, but she should have expected these facts to come to light when she took on this project to discredit two honest police officers. Shani was removed by Gotabaya the moment he assumed power. Gammanpila’s demand for the removal of Shani and Ravi from the new investigation are clearly politically motivated, and we will not give in to pressure from those who want to hide the truth,” Herath said.

Herath also pointed out that Alwis had been appointed to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) in November 2023 by the Wickremesinghe administration.