On Wednesday, 25th February, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sri Lanka arrested former intelligence chief Major General Suresh Sallay in connection with the Easter Sunday bombings in 2019, a significant breakthrough in the investigation that has been ongoing for a long time.
Former Sri Lankan military intelligence chief #SureshSallay was taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Department while travelling to his workplace, with media reports linking the arrest to the probe into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. pic.twitter.com/RZ7KUiC9YL
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) February 25, 2026
The arrest was made in Colombo under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), and police said it was based on sufficient evidence. He is expected to be produced before a court after questioning.
The suicide attack occurred on 21st April, 2019, targeting three churches and three hotels in and around Colombo and the eastern city of Batticaloa. The attack was conducted by a group of nine suicide bombers who belonged to an Islamist extremist group.
The blasts killed between 259 and 296 people, according to varying official figures, and injured about 500 others, many from the Christian community. It is the deadliest attack in Sri Lanka since the end of the civil war in 2009.
Sallay was appointed as the head of the State Intelligence Service in late 2019 by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, shortly after winning the election on a strong national security agenda.
He was the first military officer to head the country’s principal intelligence agency. At the time of the bombings, he held a high-ranking position in the military. In 2023, a documentary by Britain’s Channel 4 linked him to the Islamist bombers based on a whistleblower’s claims, which he denied. The Defence Ministry of Sri Lanka had also dismissed those claims.
This is the first significant arrest in the case since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake came into power in 2024, following a promise to deliver justice to the affected.
The Special Trial-at-Bar is still hearing the case with heavy security, with over 23,000 charges filed against 25 accused so far. Human rights activist Ruki Fernando emphasised that justice should follow due process and also reiterated his opposition to the PTA, calling it unfair.
