‘Film Corp director’ behind Colombo massacres held
Sri Lanka police intelligence sleuths on Friday arrested the
mastermind behind the recent civilian massacres carried out in Colombo
and the suburbs by LTTE terrorists.
According to police sources, the terrorist had been acting as a
handler of “suicide bombers” and the main distributor of bombs for the
terrorist network in the South.
Police media spokesperson, Deputy Inspector General Ranjith
Gunasekara said that the arrest was made on Friday evening during a
special raid carried out in the Kotahena area.
He said the arrest was made on information provided by one of the
suicide bombers arrested in the Wellawatte area a few days ago.
The suicide bomber had been handled by the terrorist who was
arrested, he said.
“The terrorist was found in possession of an identity card issued by
the National Film Corporation calling him to be a “Director” of the
Corporation, he said.
The “Director” said that he was to participate in a cultural show at
the BMICH on Friday.
Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka and Media Minister Mahinda
Yapa Abeywardane were also to participate in the same event.
Police found an invitation addressed to the terrorist for the event
issued by the Director of the Cultural Department.
“Also, he ran a shop on the first floor of the Kotahena Supermarket
where he used to keep the suicide cadre harboured during night hours”,
he said.
The police media spokesperson refrained from revealing the names of
the two suspects but confirmed that both of them have already confessed
to the crimes they had committed against innocent civilians.
“It was this ‘Film Corp. Director’ who had sent the female suicide
bomber on the mission that killed 14 people including seven school boys
of the D.S Senanayake College at the Fort railway station on February, 3
in the wake of the Independence Day celebrations”, he said.
“The suicide bomber who was arrested in this case is the one who had
made the bombs under his handler’s shelter at the shop in Kotahena”.
“The ‘Film Corp. Director’ had distributed the bombs to the other
bombers to carry out civilian massacres,” he added.
It is further learnt that the police had found 9.5 kg of high
explosives, a stock of detonators, iron balls weighing 1.5 kg, and
batteries with the suicide bomber. During the interrogations made he had
revealed vital information on the LTTE network in the south.
The suicide bomber had told the police that he had been engaged in
reconnaissance operations on VIP movements close to the Government
Information Department at Narahenpita during the recent past.
According to sources, the suicide bomber had requested the Wanni to
give him a target as soon as possible for he could end his life and the
immense mental agony that he had been suffering. The suicide bomber had
told the police that he does not wish to die for the LTTE any longer and
agreed to give his full cooperation for the investigations, the sources
said. |