A Catholic organization has urged the Sri Lankan government to launch a fresh probe into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, saying the real perpetrators are yet to be identified.
Six years on, and despite three governments promising thorough investigations, the victims and families still await justice, said the Oblate Centre for Society and Religion (CSR), Colombo.
The coordinated attacks on April 21, 2019, targeted churches and luxury hotels, killing 276 people, including 47 foreigners, and injuring 500 others.
Father Rohan Silva, the center’s chairperson, said on April 16 that a 13-page document detailing overlooked evidence was sent to the Public Security Secretary, with copies to the Acting Inspector General of Police and the Director of Crime Bureau.
“All those responsible for the attacks must be identified, and justice must be delivered to the victims without further delay,” Silva said.
Besides the mystery surrounding the identity and role of the main suspects, there is the wider suspicion that the serial bombings were meant to bring the Rajapaksa family back to power.
President Anura Dissanayake recently stated that investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks are progressing “in a systematic manner.”
The Criminal Investigation Department is working diligently to identify key suspects before the upcoming anniversary on April 21, he assured, while claiming that “several individuals responsible for the attacks would be exposed ahead of that date.”
Father Cyril Gamini, the spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Colombo, said they are waiting for April 21 with strong faith in the promises made by the new government.
Nuwani Anuradha, a rights activist, said many believe the attack was orchestrated to bring the Rajapaksa family to power.
“Three governments later, not one has fulfilled the promise to deliver justice,” she told UCA News.
The CSR team, which studied investigation reports, has sought to establish the role of key suspects behind the Easter attacks and the ignored warnings before the bombings.
Tharindu Jayawardhana, a journalist and human rights defender who was part of the CSR team, said the Presidential Commission of Inquiry reveals that intelligence agencies had been tracking a key suspect, Abdul Latif Mohammed Jameel, since 2015.
Jameel, who attempted to detonate a bomb at the Taj Samudra Hotel, died in an explosion at the Tropical Inn in Dehiwala.
The inquiry commission’s report mentions his presence at the hotels and a mosque days before the attack, and the voice messages he sent to his wife on April 20, a day before the attack.
“Three voice messages were sent to Jameel’s wife, but investigators have yet to identify the phone number. There is also no information on the firearms that he and Saharan possessed,” Jayawardhana said.
Saharan, who is said to be the leader of a local Islamist group, remains unidentified.
Jayawardhana further sought a probe into the unresolved issue of Abu Hind’s identity.
The inquiry commission revealed that Hind was either a key participant or a witness to the bombings. But to this day, his real identity remains unknown.
“Therefore, an investigation should be conducted to identify Abu Hind,” Jayawardhana said.
Hind reportedly had a business association with Sara Jasmine, the wife of one of the suicide bombers.
“There has been no proper investigation into Sara Jasmine, who some say has died while others say has fled to India. The investigations so far throw a contradictory picture,” said Jayawardhana.
(UCA News)
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