Sri Lanka’s ex-president Sirisena to be quizzed by police over controversial remark on Easter bombings

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s former President Maithripala Sirisena will face police questioning on Monday on his recent remarks on the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings that he was ‘aware” of the masterminds of the attacks that killed 270 people, including 11 Indians.

Sirisena, 72, was president between 2015 January and 2019 November. He had previously denied any knowledge of the attacks.

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Police chief Deshabandu Tennakoon told reporters on Sunday that Sirisena’s statement would be recorded on Monday.

Speaking in the central town of Kandy on Wednesday, Sirisena said he was aware of the masterminds of the attacks.

“I know who did it,” he said.

On April 21, 2019, nine suicide bombers belonging to the local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linked to ISIS carried out a series of blasts that tore through three churches and as many luxury hotels in Sri Lanka.

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However, the timing of the bombing ahead of the 2019 presidential election was the subject of conspiracy theories which suggested that the Rajapaksa brothers then in opposition had taken political advantage of the attacks.

Sirisena was accused and found guilty in a special presidential panel he appointed as the country’s president. The findings blamed him for inaction on the prior intelligence received on the attacks.

Later, he was ordered to pay 100 million to the relatives of the victims of the attack as compensation. He has so far paid only a part of it.