Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara yesterday told the Parliamentary Select Committee probing the April 21st Easter Sunday attacks that on receiving intelligence about a possible attack threat, he had ensured that the responsible officers were informed. But since there had been no specific information relating to a planned attack, it had not been practical to act upon it.
The IGP also confirmed that although the matter of a possible attack threat was meant to be brought up at a regular security meeting the following week, the Chief of the State Intelligence Service had not mentioned it.
Jayasundara then presented to the Committee two letters he had received: one which was sent from the State Intelligence Service, and the other sent from the National Intelligence Agency, saying that both were contradictory to each other.
Even with the contradictions in the letters, he said, he had ensured that the responsible officers were informed of a possible attack threat but, since there had been no specific information relating to a planned attack, it was not practical to act upon it.
Jayasundara, appearing for the first time before the media since the terror attacks, said that President Maithripala Sirisena had asked him to resign and take responsibility for the security problems arising from the attack.
“On April 23rd I received a call from the President asking me to meet him on the following day. When we met he told me he could not take responsibility for the attacks since he was not informed,” he said.
IGP said that he met the President subsequently and showed him the documents he had received from the Chief of National Intelligence and the actions he had taken.
The IGP went on to state that, at the last Security Council meeting he attended, which was on October 23, 2018, a discussion about the transfer of Inspector Nishantha Silva had taken place.
“There were disagreements on the matter,” he disclosed. “I was asked to effect the transfer of IP Nishantha Silva which I reluctantly did. I am aware of the calibre of IP Silva and I had already enquired about his work. At the time he was heavily involved in many cases including the abduction of 11 youth by the Navy since the Chief of Defense Staff had figured prominently in the case.”
Jayasundara also presented to the committee a letter he had sent to the Defence Secretary where he specifically mentioned his displeasure at effecting such a transfer.
With reference to the April 21 attacks, the IGP said that immediately upon receiving the first intimation of a possible threat based on information shared by foreign intelligence agencies, he had assigned several officers to look into the matter including the Senior DIG of the Western Province Nandana Munasinghe, Commandant of the STF and Senior DIG of Organized Crime M.R. Latiff, DIG of the TID, and the DIG of the Special Protection Reserve Srilal Dissanayake.
Jayasundara also claimed that he had been made a scapegoat over the whole matter even after being excluded from participating at Security Council meetings for over six months prior to the terror attacks.
“It is clear that I have been made a scapegoat,” he told the committee. “I am not saying this to clear my name. But I think it’s unfair to blame me when I have done whatever was required of me. Every other section is still silent.”
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