Senior Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Lalith Patinayake has been acquitted of charges related to the Easter attack, according to a report from the three-member bench appointed by the new National Police Commission.

The decision to clear Senior DIG Patinayake was communicated to the police headquarters in writing on December 14 last year, as revealed by the National Police Commission. The Commission also stated that copies of the related report have been forwarded to the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security.

The charges against Senior DIG Patinayake were related to the Easter attack, a tragic event that shook the nation in April 2019. Several high-ranking police officers, including Senior DIG Nandana Munasinghe, who was in charge of the Western Province at the time, Deshbandu Tennakoon, and Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena, the head of state intelligence, were also implicated in the case for allegedly failing to prevent the attack.