The 2nd accused in the main Easter case, 'Gapur Mama', is identified at the university student's boarding house.

It has been identified before the Permanent Three-Judge High Court in Colombo by a witness from the Nindavur area that the second accused in the Easter Sunday bomb attacks major case, named ‘Gapur Mama’, was hiding in a rented house, claiming it was to provide accommodation for a group of university students. This identification was made when the case was called before the bench of High Court Judges Navaratne Marasinghe (Chairman), Sujeewa Nissanka, and Ramanathan Kannan.

When the court instructed the witness to identify if the person who was hiding in the safe house in Nindavur after the attack was among the accused, the witness stated that he felt afraid to go near the suspects. However, the court informed him that the accused were under strict security, and under the Witness Protection Act, the witness and his family would receive government protection, so he should provide information without fear. Subsequently, without any hesitation, the witness, from the witness box, pointed towards the accused and identified the elderly person with a long white beard and a bald head as the one who had stayed at his ancestral home.

Further clarifying the incident, the witness stated that he works for a state institution in Colombo and had gone to his village for the weekend holiday on a Friday, two days before the Easter attacks. He met his mother at his younger sister's house, and he said that his elderly mother had come to her youngest daughter's house because it was difficult for her to live alone at home. The witness mentioned that his mother told him that she had rented out the ancestral home to a group of university students introduced by his uncle. When he asked his mother if she had given the identity card details of the tenants to the police, she said she hadn't, so he went to the ancestral home the very next day to meet them, but had to return as the house was locked.

Subsequently, on April 21, 2019, suicide bomb attacks occurred at several locations across the island, and the witness stated that he went to the ancestral home again that evening. When he knocked on the door, a young man came out, and when the witness introduced himself and explained the reason for his visit, he stated that he saw another elderly person inside the house. It was also revealed that the young man promised to provide their identity cards later. However, due to the curfew imposed after the attacks, he could not go to work, and when he went to the ancestral home again on Monday to ask for the identity cards, he learned from the neighbors that the people who were there had left the house, the witness stated.

During the trial, when Government Counsel Sachiththa Bandara, who led the prosecution, asked if the witness could identify the elderly person who was in the house if he saw him again, the witness stated that he remembered his appearance very well. The prosecution requested that the witness look at the accused and name the person if he was in the courtroom, and although the presiding judge allowed him to go closer to the accused to identify if necessary, due to the witness's fear, he was instructed to identify from the witness box. Accordingly, the 26 accused, who were seated in several rows in the courtroom, were ordered to stand up row by row, and the second accused, Mohamed Saidu Adam Lebbe, also known as ‘Gapur Mama’, was correctly identified by the witness as the person who was hiding in the Nindavur house after the Easter attacks.

Mr. Kannal Maddumage, the lawyer appearing for the second accused, cross-examined the witness, and in response, the witness stated that he had received the summons to testify the previous day. He emphasized that although he was physically tired from a long journey, it would not affect his memory, and that the defense lawyer was trying to confuse the dates he went to the house. Following this testimony, the witness's mother, younger sister, and uncle also gave evidence before the court.

In this daily trial, a team of lawyers representing the Attorney General, including Additional Solicitor General Haripriya Jayasundara, Deputy Solicitor General Sudarshana de Silva, Senior State Counsel Shakthika Jagodaarachchi, and Senior State Counsel Akila Dalpadadu, are leading the prosecution. A group of lawyers, including Attorney Kannel Fernando, are appearing for the defense, while the majority of the accused are representing themselves without any legal assistance.