Update: 72-hour detention order for Suresh Salley

The Sri Lanka Police announced that former State Intelligence Chief, retired Major General Tuan Suresh Salley, who was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department yesterday morning around 7:50 AM in the Peliyagoda area in connection with the Easter Sunday terrorist attack on April 21, 2019, will be further interrogated under a 72-hour detention order. Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Western Province, Sajeeva Medawatta, confirmed at a special press conference that this arrest was made based on evidence gathered regarding the Easter attack.

The main factor influencing this arrest is the controversial documentary broadcast by Britain's Channel 4 in October 2023. In it, Asad Maulana, a former secretary to former Chief Minister Pillayan and currently a political asylum seeker in Switzerland, leveled several serious allegations against Mr. Suresh Salley. It was stated that Mr. Salley met and discussed with the bombers before the Easter attack, and that Jameel, the terrorist who failed to detonate the bomb at the Taj Samudra Hotel on the day of the attack, went to a church in Dehiwala with a phone, returned without it, and then detonated the bomb at another lodging. Maulana claimed that at that time, Mr. Salley called him on the phone from a house adjacent to the Dehiwala church and instructed him to quickly take the bomber away. These facts have raised strong suspicions regarding Mr. Salley's involvement.

Previously, during the Ranil Wickremesinghe government, an internal investigation was conducted regarding this Channel 4 revelation, but the then President had decided that investigations could not proceed solely based on a television program. However, acting on a recent complaint made by Father Rohan Silva, a priest from the Social and Religious Centre, the Criminal Investigation Department reported the facts to the Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court, after which this arrest was made. Additionally, information has been reported that former President Ranil Wickremesinghe also mentioned certain facts about Suresh Salley in a confidential statement given regarding the Easter attack.

Mr. Suresh Salley, who served as a skilled intelligence officer since the war, has also faced various other allegations. He is accused of mediating discussions between Abdul Razik of the Tawheed Jamaat organization and the Bodu Bala Sena organization, as well as being involved in the disappearance of Sarah Jasmine, the wife of the Katupitiya bomber, who is suspected to have fled to India. It is said that after the Rajapaksa government came to power in 2019, Mr. Salley was reappointed as the head of State Intelligence, and during that period, he allegedly pressured the Criminal Investigation Department to conduct a third DNA test through the Government Analyst to confirm Sarah Jasmine's death. A significant controversy also arose regarding the announcement of her death through Mr. Nihal Thalduwa without proper police notification, despite the first two DNA tests confirming she was not dead.

Amidst this controversial backdrop, various opinions have emerged in the political sphere regarding the arrest. Parties loyal to the Rajapaksa camp strongly criticize this action, while opposing parties point out that information about the true masterminds of the Easter attack and those closely connected to it is being revealed through this. However, critics believe that the current government would not risk getting embroiled in a crisis by arresting such a high-ranking former intelligence chief without solid evidence.