News Today: Former Minister Pilleyan Arrested by CID for Alleged Role in 2019 Easter Sunday Attacks

Former Minister Pilleyan (Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan) was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday. Although the CID has not officially disclosed the reason for his arrest, sources have linked it to an ongoing investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. The coordinated attacks, which targeted churches and hotels in Colombo, Batticaloa, and Negombo, killed over 250 people and injured hundreds more.

Pilleyan’s arrest follows the formation of a new political alliance with Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, also known as Karuna Amman, another controversial paramilitary leader. The alliance, announced last month, aims to represent the “Eastern Tamils” and marks the reunion of two figures who were seen as complicit in atrocities during Sri Lanka’s civil conflict.

Pilleyan has faced multiple allegations, including links to violent incidents and accusations of war crimes. In 2015, he was arrested and remanded for over five years in connection with the 2005 assassination of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham. Although he was released and acquitted in 2021, the trial was marred by significant delays and accusations of political interference.

More recently, Pilleyan was named in a 2023 Channel 4 documentary that investigated the Easter Sunday attacks. The documentary suggested that Sri Lankan military intelligence and extremist Islamist groups had deep ties, with Pilleyan and Karuna allegedly enabling the attacks to create a security crisis ahead of the 2019 presidential election, facilitating Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s victory.

In response, Pilleyan appeared before the CID in October 2023 and denied the allegations, calling them part of a political smear campaign against Eastern Tamil leadership. He emphasized that if he were guilty, he would take his own life, framing the charges as politically motivated.

Pilleyan recently gave an interview to BBC Tamil, where he reiterated his claims that he was in prison during the attacks and was actively involved in the presidential inquiry into the bombings.