Sri Lanka’s former State Intelligence Services chief, Major General (retired) Suresh Sallay, was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks. Citing police spokesman ASP FU Wootler, a newspaper report read that Sallay was taken into custody early on Wednesday morning in Peliyagoda by officers from the country’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
On April 21, 2019, a series of eight coordinated explosions struck multiple locations across Sri Lanka, including Colombo, Negombo, Kochchikede and Batticaloa, as Christians marked Easter Sunday. The near-simultaneous suicide bombings targeted three churches and three luxury hotels, killing 279 people—among them 11 Indian nationals—and injuring more than 500 others.
The devastating attacks also severely impacted Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, a key pillar of the national economy. Sallay, who was appointed SIS chief in 2019 after Gotabaya Rajapaksa became president, has faced allegations of involvement in orchestrating the bombings. However, he has denied those claims.
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In 2023, there were reports that claimed Sallay had links with the attackers and had met them before the bombings. A whistle-blower further alleged that the attacks were allowed to proceed in order to sway the 2019 presidential election in Rajapaksa’s favour.
Two days after the blasts, Rajapaksa declared his candidacy for the presidency and went on to secure victory in the November election that year. In 2023, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ruled that former President Maithripala Sirisena and four senior officials were responsible for failing to prevent the attacks. Sirisena was ordered to pay USD 2,73,300 in compensation to the victims’ families. The then police chief, two senior intelligence officers and the Defence Ministry secretary, were collectively directed to pay USD 5,74,000.
The United Nations has also called on Sri Lanka to make public portions of earlier investigations into the bombings, which remain undisclosed, underscoring continued concerns over accountability and transparency.
Sallay’s arrest marks a major development in the prolonged investigation into one of the deadliest terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka’s history.
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