Sri Lanka Police rejects accusations of lax probe in 2019 Easter Sunday attack

Colombo, Apr 22 (PTI) Sri Lanka Police on Monday rejected accusations that its investigations are poor and lead to a cover-up rather than finding the culprits of the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombing that killed 270 people, including Indians.

Responding to criticism levelled at the alleged pussyfooting on probes, police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa told reporters that the police had put up their maximum efforts to conduct proper investigations.

“This is not an investigation conducted by the police on its own. The police take advice from the attorney general, and periodically, the progress is reported to the court,” Thalduwa said.

At the fifth anniversary of the attacks on Sunday, the head of the local church, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, reiterated his dissatisfaction over the investigation, claiming the authorities had failed to reveal the conspiracy behind the attacks.

He said the Church has plans to propose at the UN rights body in Geneva to initiate an international investigation into the incident where 270 people, including foreigners, were killed.

Thalduwa said the often repeated accusation that police had failed to arrest certain individuals was not true.

“The police need evidence to act against individuals. The Supreme Court has ordered fines on certain politicians and officials. People have been arrested following an investigation, and the cases are being still heard,” he said.

He said the police would not hesitate to investigate if anyone could present fresh evidence.

Sri Lanka’s opposition parties have pledged fresh investigations after the impending elections later this year.

Nine suicide bombers belonging to the local Islamist extremist group, the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), linked to ISIS, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three Catholic churches and as many luxury hotels on April 21, 2019, killing nearly 270 people, including 11 Indians, and injuring over 500.