Former Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, who was summoned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) today (12), did not appear. Instead, he informed the CID that he would be available to appear between 18 and 25 November.

Chandrakanthan was summoned to provide a statement regarding allegations made in a recent Channel 4 documentary about the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks in Sri Lanka. The CID has launched an investigation following a complaint filed with the Ministry of Public Security concerning claims made by Hanzeer Azad Maulana, who was Chandrakanthan’s media secretary, in the documentary. The 2019 Easter attacks targeted Catholic churches and luxury hotels, resulting in over 260 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

According to the police spokesperson, the CID is now probing controversial statements made by several individuals featured in the documentary, which aired on 6 September 2023. The Channel 4 Dispatches investigation, titled Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings, presents serious allegations based on testimonies from whistleblowers, including former associates of government officials, suggesting that senior government figures may have been complicit in the attacks.