Former Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, also known as Pillayan, appeared before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) today morning, 20 November, to provide a statement regarding the controversial Channel 4 documentary on the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist attacks. Prior to his appearance, Pillayan addressed the media, calling on the Sri Lankan government to take action against his former media secretary, Azad Maulana, who is believed to have fled the country. He urged authorities to bring Maulana back to Sri Lanka to facilitate an independent investigation into the events surrounding the attacks.
“It is surprising how the CID is assisting Azad Maulana in maintaining his personal lifestyle abroad,” Pillayan remarked. “It is completely wrong to associate my name with the Easter attack. If I am proven guilty, I am ready to hang myself,” he added, expressing his innocence and calling for a thorough investigation into the matter. He further emphasised that as Maulana claimed to have information about the attacks, he should be brought to Sri Lanka for questioning.
Pillayan’s statement follows the report of a three-member committee, appointed by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, which investigated the Channel 4 documentary. The committee, led by retired Supreme Court Justice S.I. Imam, and including former Air Force Commander Chief Air Marshal Jayalath Weerakkody and retired Supreme Court Justice Harsha A.J. Soza, concluded that Azad Maulana had fabricated his charges. Despite multiple attempts by the committee to obtain statements from Maulana, he failed to cooperate, prompting the committee to recommend legal action to prosecute him for his role in the controversy.
However, despite the committee’s findings, the CID relaunched its investigation following a complaint filed by Father Rohan Fernando, the head of the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR). Father Rohan, who has been vocal about the possibility of a political conspiracy behind the Easter Sunday attacks, urged the authorities to probe the claims made in the Channel 4 documentary, which raised serious questions about the involvement of high-ranking officials. However, the directors of the documentary later failed to substantiate these claims and confessed that they had no evidence beyond the assertions made by Azad Maulana.
The Channel 4 documentary, aired in September 2023, highlighted testimonies from several key figures, including Azad Maulana, Nishantha de Silva (a former police inspector from the CID), Frederica Jansz (a journalist), Lal Wickramatunga (brother of murdered journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga), former Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission Ambika Satkunanathan, former diplomat Sarath Kongahage, and His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo. The documentary suggested potential conspiracies surrounding the bombings, alleging the involvement of military intelligence officers and government interference in the investigation.
Pillayan, who had previously been summoned by the CID on 12 November but failed to appear due to his election campaign, voiced his displeasure over the timing of the investigation. “It is not fair to raise this issue during the peak of my election campaign,” he said.
The documentary questioned whether the bombings were part of a larger political plot, raising issues such as the alleged complicity of military intelligence, the mismanagement of the investigation by the government, and possible sabotage to prevent justice. Both the Sri Lankan government and military officials have firmly denied these allegations, maintaining that ISIS-inspired extremists were responsible for the attacks.
