Easter Sunday carnage:

by Rathindra Kuruwita

Those responsible for the Easter attack are in the ruling NPP, and therefore the government is all out to shield them by accusing others, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya Leader Udaya Gammanpila has said.

Addressing the media yesterday in Colombo, the government had changed its narrative to suit its political agenda. “The claim made by Channel 4 that Sri Lanka’sintelligence services, led by Suresh Salley, were behind the attack was thoroughly debunked by the Imam report, which we released.

That report was compiled by a former Supreme Court Judge, a former Air Force Commander, and a President’s Counsel. Now, the government is planning to arrest former Intelligence Chief Major General Suresh Salley and former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.”Gammanpila said the lie that Sri Lanka’s intelligence services orchestrated the Easter attackhad been spread globally by Azad Maulana via Channel 4 in a bid to secure political asylum in Switzerland. “Maulana is now in Switzerland seeking political asylum. His Channel 4 claims turned out to be false. This guy is a fraud. Maulana, who has been married twice, allegedly entered his second marriage under a false name and produced a fraudulent marriage certificate before fleeing to Switzerland leaving both wives behind,” he said.

His secondwife, Fatima Jesli Benaseer, found her husband’s real name was Azad only after watching a Channel 4 video and subsequently lodged a complaint with theSainthamaruthu Police.”The police investigation led to a case being filed at the Kalmunai Magistrate’s Sainthamaruthu Court under case number B/811/2023, resulting in an immediate travel ban on Maulana.

However, he had already fled the country by that time,” Gammanpila said. For Major General Suresh Saleh to be taken into custody, a statement from Maulana was required, the PHU leader said. “However, with the travel ban in place—since anyone under such a ban would be arrested upon arrival—Maulana cannot return to Sri Lanka to give the statement. Therefore, the government has decided to lift the travel ban, bring Maulana back, and make him give a statement before a magistrate under Section 127 of the Penal Code. Meanwhile, Abdul Rahim, who allegedly assisted Maulana in preparing the fraudulent marriage certificate, has been arrested. Therefore, the police are reluctant to agree to lift Maulana’s travel ban,” he said.Under these circumstances, when Maulana’s lawyer requested the lifting of the travel ban before the magistrate, the Sainthamaruthu Police received instructions from the highest levels of the government not to raise objections. “According to information available to me, a senior police officer in the Ampara District influenced this lawyer, although I do not have verified evidence to reveal the officer’s name. Thus, on 21 January, without any police objection, the travel ban on Maulana was lifted,” he said.The fact that the government was wasting public funds on a bogus claim already debunked by a Presidential Commission of Inquiry, Gammanpila said.”However, attempting to build a case around Maulana, a man accused of fraudulently marrying a woman under a false name, is a farce. We see this as an insult to the Prime Minister, who has written books and delivered lectures on women’s rights.

The allegations against Maulana are not limited to entering a fraudulent second marriage under a false name. According to Justice Imam committee’s report, Maulana assisted Saharan and not the intelligence services, contrary to his claims,” he said. Gammanpila said he was demanding answers to several critical questions from the government: “We call upon the government’s media spokesperson, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, the Inspector General of Police, and the police media spokesperson to provide immediate responses to the following issues:·  Who intervened to have Maulana’s travel ban lifted?·  Who directed the police to suggest that Fatima Jesli Benaseer’s complaint had been made under the influence of Pillayan?·  Have the police recorded a statement from Fatima Jesli Benaseer, wherein she claimed police interference, in the DCDB of the Ampara Police?·  Will the police question Maulana on introducing Dr. Safras Mohammad Sufiyan to Rilwan,who was injured during a bomb test?·  Will Maulana be presented before the Kalmunai Magistrate’s Court concerning the case of fraudulently marrying Fatima Jesli Benaseer under case number B/811/2023?·  Will the police question Maulana under the Money Laundering Act regarding the allegations that he purchased a luxurious apartment at Span Tower in Dehiwala?·  Will legal action be taken against Maulana over the fraudulent cheque for 20 million rupees issued on 22 February 2022 during his second marriage?·  Is the government preparing to use the fabricated claim that the intelligence services were behind the Easter attack to once again mislead the public ahead of the upcoming elections?”