Accusing President Maithripala Sirisena of failing to prevent the Easter bombings that killed 258 people, Sri Lanka’s suspended police chief has petitioned the Supreme Court.
In a 20-page complaint, Inspector-General Pujith Jayasundara disclosed serious communication gaps between intelligence agencies and security arms of the government, all which fall under Mr. Sirisena.
In the petition submitted to court last week, Mr. Jayasundara said the country’s premier spy agency, the State Intelligence Service (SIS), ordered him last year to stop ongoing police investigations into Islamic militants.
The SIS, which reports directly to Mr. Sirisena, wanted the police Terrorist Investigation Department to stop all inquiries into extremist Muslim factions, including the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), which was blamed for the Easter Sunday bombings.
Mr. Jayasundara said the head of the SIS, Nilantha Jayawardena, did not take seriously the intelligence shared by neighbouring India which warned of an impending attack by the NTJ.
Mr. Jayasundara said despite the SIS not sharing information warnings with the police department, he had initiated action to alert his senior men, but he had no input from the main spy agency. Mr. Sirisena suspended Mr. Jayasundara after he refused to accept responsibility for the deadly attacks. The Attorney General has asked for a full bench of the apex court to decide the case.
Sri Lanka’s suspended police chief Jayasundara files petition in SC, Prez Sirisena over Easter attacks
