Ex-Police Chief holds Ex-President directly responsible for 2019 Terror Attacks

Jayasundara added after he received, a report from State Intelligence Service Director Nilantha Jayawardena about a possible terrorist attack on the 09th of April 2019; he forwarded the report to SDIG of Western Province, Nandana Munasinghe, SDIG crimes and STF, M.R. Latif, DIG special protection range, DIG Priyalal Dasanayake and Director of the Terrorism Investigation Division, Waruna Jayasundara and spoke to them over the phone.

Jayasundara said he also phoned all Senior DIGs in charge of provinces.

"I gave all of them specific instructions on what to do. But when investigators checked my mobile records, the details of these records were gone. President Sirisena's brother headed Mobitel at that time. What happened to these call logs must be investigated," Jayasundara said.

The former IGP added the SIS had tapped his phone and had deployed officers opposite his house.

"Intelligence agents were monitoring me. They were right outside my house. I was the IGP," he said.

A commissioner then drew Jayasundara's attention to former Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando's statement, before the PCoI that Sirisena had offered him a foreign posting and promised to clear him of charges through the Malalgoda Commission.

The witness said on April 23rd, 2019, President Sirisena had called him at around 6 pm and asked him to come to his Paget Road residence at 08:00 pm.

SLFP MPs at that time Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Thilanga Sumathipala, and Mahinda Amaraweera too were there, Jayasundara said.

"I waited for 15 minutes. After the MPs left, I spoke to Sirisena alone for about 45 minutes. The former President said he can't take the blame because neither then defense secretary Hemasiri Fernando nor I had warned him about the attacks. He said I must take the blame and that I was silent in the National Security Council (NSC) meeting held after the attacks," Jayasundara said.

Sirisena also said that he had spoken to Wijith Malalgoda and that a committee will be appointed under the former Supreme Court judge, Jayasundara added.

"Sirisena said this will committee will find me at fault. However, if I resign and accept responsibility to the attacks, I will be left off the hook and that I will be given a local or foreign post I like, Sirisena told me. He repeated this thrice," Jayasundara said.

The former IGP added he told the former President he can't be the fall guy as that would discredit the entire police force.

"I told him that I would not be able to face my family. Then Sirisena told me that he had told me everything he had to say and I left," Jaayasundara said.