Families of victims of Sri Lanka’s 2019 Easter Sunday bombings have expressed renewed hope for justice after police arrested a former top intelligence official over the coordinated attacks that killed 279 people. Source: UCA News.
Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department on Wednesday arrested retired Major General Suresh Sallay, the former head of the State Intelligence Service, in connection with the April 21, 2019, suicide bombings targeting three churches and four luxury hotels.
More than 500 people were injured in the attacks, including dozens of foreign nationals.
Police said Major General Sallay, who was serving as director of Military Intelligence at the time, was detained for 72 hours under the Prevention of Terrorism Act for questioning.
Catholic leaders and survivors have for years urged successive governments to uncover the truth behind the attacks and prosecute those responsible.
“This arrest followed investigations despite many setbacks in the past. We await the full truth and the masterminds behind these heinous attacks to be revealed soon,” Fr Cyril Gamini Fernando, editor of the Catholic weekly Gnanartha Pradeepaya (Light of Knowledge), said.
Fr Fernando was summoned by the Criminal Investigation Department in 2021 under the previous administration after a complaint by a former intelligence chief who alleged the priest made defamatory remarks about him in connection with the bombings.
The arrest of Major General Sallay follows renewed scrutiny after media reports in 2023 cited testimony from a high-level whistleblower alleging possible complicity at senior levels of government.
The reports suggested some officials may have deliberately allowed the attacks to proceed in order to discredit the then-ruling administration ahead of national elections and help a rival political bloc gain power. Authorities have not formally confirmed those allegations.
Investigators are examining whether Major General Sallay was part of a broader conspiracy and whether he failed to act on credible intelligence warnings that might have prevented the bombings.
For Pradeepan Regan, 43, who lost his six-year-old daughter in the blast at St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, the arrest marks a significant development.
“If she were alive today, she would be 13,” he said. “You cannot suppress the truth for long. Now it’s starting to come out. We want the full truth and justice. Our children did not die in vain.”
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Sri Lanka arrests ex-intelligence chief over 2019 Easter bombings (By Rubatheesan Sandran, UCA News)
