Government politicians are giving a running commentary of the investigations into the Easter Sunday terror attacks. They usually do so in Parliament and at media briefings to generate headlines and distract attention from burning issues.
Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala has told Parliament that investigators have gathered sufficient evidence to establish the involvement of former State Intelligence Service Director Major General (Retd.) Suresh Sallay, in a conspiracy linked to the 2019 carnage. Other JVP/NPP politicians also come out with what can be described as teasers about the CID’s Easter Sunday terror probe, making one wonder if the outcome of investigations is known to the government in advance.
The claim that Sallay was involved in the Easter Sunday bombings is still an unsubstantiated allegation, but going by government politicians’ claims about the investigations into the terror attacks, it is obvious that they are privy to information that the police must keep confidential to ensure the integrity of the probe. It is unbecoming of crime investigators to share such information with politicians, who use it to gain propaganda mileage.
Minister Wijepala has also claimed that Sallay declined to disclose the passwords for his personal computer and mobile phone. He described Sallay’s alleged non-cooperation as an attempt to obstruct the investigative process. Isn’t it naïve to expect a former spy chief who was aware that he was living under the microscope to store in his mobile phone or personal computer any information that could be used against him? On the other hand, in this day and age, gaining access to password-protected computers and phones is child’s play.
When prominent ruling party members declare that proving a serious charge against someone is only a matter of time, and some high-profile arrests are imminent, how can investigators led by a person at their beck and call be expected to factor in contradictory evidence that can be used to challenge his political masters’ assertions and public statements? Won’t the investigators be compelled to suppress such evidence lest they should embarrass their political leaders, provide grist for their political rivals and, most of all, fall from grace as a result? Instances abound where the police fall victim to confirmation bias, cherry-pick evidence and build cases backward in outcome-driven investigations. Initial police investigation that fitted information to the theory that the death of popular rugby player Wassim Thajudeen was due to a car crash is a case in point.
In this country, police officers do not stand up to the powers that be in the name of truth, justice and fair play; instead, they stand to attention before politicians in power. One may recall that in 2016, the then IGP Pujith Jayasundera was caught on camera, at a public meeting, answering a telephone call from someone whom he reverentially called ‘sir’ and assuring that a certain person would not be arrested. Submissiveness can become institutionally contagious. A fish is said to rot from the head down. A Yahapalana era audio clip of a telephone conversation between CID Director SSP Shani Abeysekera and Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake is available in the digital space. Abeysekera is heard offering to wash pots and pans in Ramanayake’s kitchen over some matter.
There is no gainsaying that the Easter Sunday terror attacks, which claimed more than 275 lives and left many others seriously injured, must be probed thoroughly. Justice must be done to the victims. But what’s the world coming to when a government brings its own party members out of retirement, elevates them to key positions in the police and the public security sector and assigns them to conduct high-profile criminal investigations and declares suspects guilty even before they are indicted. Most of all, its leader, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, orders the detention of suspects under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and predicts judicial decisions accurately?
Political affiliations and prejudices of crime investigators have a corrosive effect on the integrity of the probes they conduct.
