Minister of Industries Rishad Bathiudeen said that he had not attempted to influence Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake over a suspect apprehended by the military. Bathiudeen admitted that he had contacted the Army Commander, as per the latter’s revelation to the media last week, but had only contacted him to inquire whether a certain individual was in the custody of the Army. The Minister said that the Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Postal Services and Muslim Religious Affairs, Mohideen, had contacted him and lamented that an unknown masked group had taken away his son and that when asked, the Dehiwala Police had been unaware of such an incident. “Mohideen asked me to check with the Army if they had taken his son, as he didn’t know what happened to him or who had taken him,” Minister Bathiudeen said. He said that he had only inquired from the Army Commander if such a person was in the custody of the Army and that he had made no further requests. Furthermore, Bathiudeen said that groups with petty political agendas were levelling allegations against him. “I commend and I am grateful for the services the security forces are carrying out to protect the country from terrorism,” he said.