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Easter attacks PCoI report: ‘Naufer Moulavi the Easter attacks mastermind’

07 Apr 2021

  • Sarath Weerasekera says conclusion from report of Cabinet Subcommittee

  • No proof of Pulasthini Mahendran aka. Sarah Jasmine’s death

  Naufer Moulavi, who is alleged to be the theoretician of the now banned National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) and is currently in remand custody, has been identified by the Government as the true mastermind of Easter Sunday terror attacks, according to Minister of Public Security Rear Admiral (Retd.) Sarath Weerasekera. He made this comment at a media briefing held yesterday (6) relating to the final report of the Cabinet Subcommittee appointed to study in depth the facts and recommendations on the course of action contained in the final reports of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) probing the Easter Sunday bombings and the Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee (PSOC) on National Security. Weerasekera said that Naufer Moulavi is currently in remand custody along with 32 suspects who were directly involved in the Easter attacks. “A total of 75 are under detention orders and 211 are under remand custody at the moment. The Police will continue the investigations,” he said. According to Weerasekera, Zahran Hashim, who was also connected to the NTJ group and was previously reported to have been the mastermind of the bombings, was not the ringleader, as Naufer had commenced his Islamist extremist activities in 2014, two years before Zahran became involved in Islamist extremism in 2016. He also added that the death of Pulasthini Mahendran, alias Sarah Jasmine, a converted Islamist extremist and a part of Zahran’s terror group, cannot be confirmed at the moment. “None of the DNA samples taken from the bodies at the Sainthamaruthu blast on 26 April 2021 (some reports claim that she fled to India) matched the sample from Pulasthini’s mother. However, if she is dead, we would issue a notice through the Interpol,” Weerasekera added. Meanwhile, Cabinet Subcommittee Chairman Minister Chamal Rajapaksa, also addressing the same press conference, said that the final report of the Cabinet Subcommittee focused on the regulations which should be implemented by government institutions, adding that it had also recommended measures to be taken to prevent the recurrence of such. “It is up to the Attorney General (AG) to take action against the people who were involved in this incident according to the recommendations, and he is responsible for implementing the recommendations,” he said. Also speaking at the same forum, Cabinet Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella claimed that the Government has nothing to hide, adding that the allegation that the Government was protecting wrongdoers named in the PCoI report was part of a political conspiracy.


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