News
Ex-SIS chief blasts top people who feign ignorance of Easter carnage warning
by Rathindra Kuruwita
By April 11, 2019, between 10,000 and 15,000 persons were aware of the foreign intelligence that the State Intelligence Service (SIS) received on April 04, 2019 about a possible terrorist attack, former SIS Director, Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena, said yesterday, before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) investigating the Easter Sunday attacks.
Jayawardena said that by April 09, former IGP Pujith Jayasundara had informed the STF of it and the STF had about 5,000 personnel, Jayewardena said.
“The officers who provide security to VIPs too were informed.
There are about 800 such officers. Police personnel of the Western Province were also informed and there are about 8,000 such personnel,” he said.
Former SIS Director added that on the 20th morning, officials from various embassies had called him and asked about the intelligence report the SIS had sent the former IGP.
“So even they knew. At this rate I wouldn’t have been surprised if Zahran Hashim had also been aware of our report.
I am surprised when I hear some senior people feign ignorance,” he said.
Jayawardena also said that when a security officer of a VIP was informed of a possible threat, the VIP was usually informed.
“If my security officer is made aware of a threat, I am always informed of it. So it’s hard to believe that all the MPs didn’t know.”
Accepting deposits from political parties and independent groups who intend to contest the forthcoming Local Authorities Election ended at 12noon today [19].
Deposits were accepted at respective District Secretariats from 3rd March 2025.
The Elections Commission has announced that the deadline for the accepting of nominations for the LA poll is set to conclude at 12:00 noon tomorrow (20).
It has been reported that the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon has appeared before the Matara Magistrate’s Court this morning (19),
The former IGP had been evading arrest after the Matara Magistrate’s court had ordered his arrest regarding a shooting incident that took place in front of the W15 Hotel Pelena, Weligama, Matara, in 2023.
The government has begun recovering funds obtained by former Lands and Land Development, Environment and Wildlife Resources Minister SM Chandrasena for the Janatha Lanka Chilli Marketing Limited (JLCML), which he headed, Parliament was informed yesterday.
Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation Minister Namal Karunaratne said that as the Chairman of JLCML, Chandrasena had obtained a loan of Rs. 1,275,000 from the Mihintale Govijana Seva Bank in 2001.
The principal of the loan had not been repaid until the end of last year. “After we came to power, we demanded that the loan be settled. Then, we discovered that the interest on the loan had not been paid for the past 24 years, and attempts had been made to have the loan written off. We stopped that and are now in the process of recovering the interest of Rs. 1,975,233 on the loan,” Karunaratne said.
Karunaratne added that JLCML was registered as a company with the Registrar of Companies on March 21, 2001. As Chairman of the company, Chandrasena requested a loan of Rs. 10 million on April 19, 2001, for the purpose of purchasing chillies from farmers in 12 farmer colonies in the Mihintale Agrarian Service area.
The request was approved by the Mihintale Agrarian Service Committee on the same day and referred to the Anuradhapura District Agrarian Operations Committee, which approved it on April 23, 2001. However, the Agriculture Development Commissioner General recommended that a loan of Rs. 1.2 million would suffice for this purpose. JLCML took the loan and failed to repay it until the end of last year. When the matter was raised, the principal was paid, and we are now in the process of recovering the interest that was not paid for the past 24 years,” Karunaratne added.
By Saman Indrajith
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