Sri Lanka Public Security Minister: Pillayan had prior knowledge of Easter Sunday attacks

Sri Lanka’s Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament today (July 9) that investigations have revealed Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, also known as Pillayan, who was held at the Batticaloa Prison, had prior knowledge of the Easter Sunday attacks.

He made this statement while presenting a clarification in the Parliament of Sri Lanka regarding the progress of the investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks.

The Minister made this revelation during the adjournment debate held in Parliament concerning the investigation into the attacks.

Meanwhile, Minister Wijepala also informed Parliament that the management of the Taj Samudra Hotel in Colombo had alerted the State Intelligence Service (SIS) via email just minutes after Easter Sunday bomber Abdul Latheef Mohamed Jameel checked into the hotel at 4:52 PM on April 20, 2019, a day before the attacks.

Despite the alert, and the fact that Jameel was on a security watchlist, the SIS reportedly failed to act on the information, the Minister said.

Jameel, one of the suicide bombers involved in the Easter Sunday attacks that claimed over 250 lives, was originally assigned to bomb the Taj Samudra.

However, after his attempt failed, he moved to another location and died in an explosion at the Tropical Inn in Dehiwala.