‘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.