Ex-TID Director says politicians framed him

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Former head of the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) Nalaka de Silva, on Wednesday, told the PCoI investigating Easter Sunday attacks that he had been framed by politicians who were angered by his refusal to conduct partial investigations.

DIG Silva said that he had been appointed Director of the TID on 27 February 2015 and that he had been working under trying circumstances from the beginning.

Silva said: “TID worked on investigating terrorism, extremism as well as large serious crimes. I had a number of issues from the start. I was given certain instructions that I did not carry out because I didn’t want to conduct politically motivated investigations. There are things I will not do; I can’t do political inquiries or whitewash people.”

The former TID Director said that certain politicians had been angry with him. He said he had asked for a transfer.

Silva said: “But I was not given a transfer. In 2018, I was framed for allegedly conspiring to kill then President Maithripala Sirisena and current Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is the incumbent President. I was accused of having conspired with Namal Kumara, a man who couldn’t steal candy from a baby.”

Silva said that former DIG of the CID Ravi Senevirathne as well as CID Director Shani Abeysekera had interfered in his work.

The witness said that NGOs activists were constantly present at the CID at that time.

Silva added that the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), too, had obstructed TID investigations. “When we arrested a suspect , representatives from the HRCSL would visit him. They used to come even before the parents of the suspect. The HRCSL representatives would talk to the suspects for an hour or so and after that it was hard to get statements from them.”