TMVP leader Pillaiyaan’s arrest, 2019 Easter bombings and Azad Maulana’s revelations

Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan 

alias Pillaiyaan

Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan 

alias Pillaiyaan

The advent of the Local Authority elections in 2025 saw the emergence of a new electoral alliance in Eastern Sri Lanka. The Tamil Makkal Viduthalaip Puligal (TMVP) led by Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan (spelled as Santhirakanthan also) alias “Pillaiyaan” and the “Thamilar Mutpoakku Kazhagham” (TMK) led by Sathasivam Viyaalendran came together and formed the “Kizhakkuth Thamizhar Koottamaippu” (KTK). The new alliance was strengthened further when the “Thamizhar Aikkiya Suthanthira Munnani” (TASM) led by Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias “Col” Karuna joined the new alliance.

The Kizhakkuth Thamizhar Koottamaippu means Eastern Tamil Alliance (ETA) in Tamil. The new alliance commenced its local poll campaign enthusiastically in the east. The alliance hoped to attract the votes of Eastern Tamils by focusing on the inadequacy of Tamil parties with a Jaffna Tamil leadership and the problems caused by alleged Muslim expansionism in the east. 

Even as the Eastern Tamil Alliance campaign gathered momentum, disaster struck the triumvirate of leaders – Pillaiyaan, Karuna and Viyaalendran. Viyalendran was arrested on a charge of bribery, remanded and subsequently released on bail. Then came the sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom (UK) on Muralitharan for alleged complicity in human rights violations during the war between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Finally Chandrakanthan alias “Pillaiyaan” was arrested under the prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) on suspicion of being linked to the abduction and disappearance of former Eastern University vice-chancellor Prof. Sivasubramaniam Raveendranath in December 2006.

Prevention of Terrorism Act

Pillaiyaan was initially detained under the PTA for a period of 72 hours for questioning. Thereafter his detention period was extended to 90 days pending investigation. Both detention orders were issued under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Currently there have been a lot of protests by human rights activists against the PTA. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) led National People’s Power (NPP) Government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been criticised for detaining suspects under the PTA instead of abolishing the PTA as pledged during the Presidential and Parliamentary elections of 2024.

Yet, the arrest and detention of Pillaiyaan under the PTA has not resulted in even a peep of protest by the human rights activist lobby and major opposition parties. Despite being a former chief minister, MP and state minister, Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyaan does not have a positive image. In fact he has a notorious reputation of alleged involvement in various human rights violations. From abductions to assassinations, the charge sheet of alleged offences is quite lengthy. 

Though he spent four years in jail for alleged involvement in the killing of former Batticaloa MP Joseph Pararajasingham, Pillaiyaan was not convicted. Despite Pillaiyaan’s negative image, the anti-PTA advocates should protest Pillaiyaan’s detention under the PTA if they are engaged in principled opposition to the draconian law. Instead it appears that the anti-PTA lobby is somewhat selective and partial in its approach.

It is against this backdrop that this column focuses on the arrest and detention of Pillaiyaan this week.

Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan 

Tamil Makkal Viduthalaip Puligal (TMVP) political party leader Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan created history by getting elected as Sri Lanka’s first Eastern Province chief minister in 2008. He served in that capacity until 2012. Pillaiyaan was elected to Parliament from Batticaloa district in 2020. He topped the preference votes for the district in that poll. Pillaiyaan who was appointed State minister of rural road development by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, served in that capacity under President Ranil Wickremesinghe too.

Pillaiyaan and his TMVP supported Ranil Wickremesinghe in the 2024 Presidential poll. Ranil came third. Pillaiyaan and his party fared poorly in the 2024 Parliamentary elections. The Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi (ITAK) swept the polls in Batticaloa district getting three MPs. The JVP/NPP also got a Tamil MP in B’caloa. Pillaiyaan however hoped to make a political comeback through the local authority polls. The formation of the Eastern Tamil Alliance was expected to help achieve that purpose. Now Pillaiyaan’s plans seem to have gone awry.

The former eastern chief minister was arrested by a team of Police officials from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on 8 April. Chandrakanthan known widely by his nom de guerre “Pillaiyaan” was in his party office in Batticaloa when the arrest was made. Pillaiyaan was initially detained for 72 hours under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) for questioning.

Prof. Sivasubramaniam Raveendranath

According to earlier media reports Pillaiyaan had been arrested by the Police in connection with the disappearance of former Eastern University vice-chancellor Prof. Sivasubramaniam Raveendranath in Colombo on 15 December 2006. Police sources were quoted as saying that they hoped to elicit more information about Pillaiyaan’s alleged involvement in the eastern varsity vice-chancellor’s enforced disappearance and also about other suspected abductions and enforced disappearances in the east in the past. 

Things changed soon. Pillaiyaan was detained for 90 days under a new detention order issued on 12 April. According to media reports, Pillaiyaan was being interrogated over the Easter bombings of 21 April 2019. Comments made by Public Security minister Ananda Wijepala on 10 April and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on 12 April indicated that Pillaiyaan was being questioned about the Easter bombings.

As is well known a group of Muslim youths – allegedly led by Zahran Hashim – claiming to be aligned to the ISIS, launched a series of suicide bomb attacks against four tourist hotels and three churches on Easter Sunday. Over 260 people were killed and over 500 persons were injured. 

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has assured his Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Catholic Archbishop of Colombo, that full details of the ongoing investigation would be disclosed publicly before the sixth anniversary of the Easter bombings on 21 April.

It appears that the shift of focus from the Eastern University Vice-Chancellor’s enforced disappearance to the Easter Sunday bombings has been necessitated by President Dissanayake’s assurance to Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith about disclosing details of those allegedly responsible for the Easter carnage. The detention and interrogation of Pillaiyaan under the PTA over the Easter bombings is perceived by some as part of the expedited effort to meet the 21 April deadline.

Udaya Gammanpila

In an unusual twist, “Pivithuru Hela Urumaya” (PHU) leader and former Parliamentarian cum cabinet minister Udaya Gammanpila became Pillaiyaan’s lawyer. Gammanpila was allowed a 30 minute meeting on 13 April with the detained Pillaiyaan with four CID officers being present. Subsequently Gammanpila held a media briefing where he refuted reports of Pillaiyaan being detained over the Easter bombings. He said the detention order signed by AK Dissanayake as Defence Minister referred to the disappeared person (Prof. S. Raveendranath) only.

Tamil media reports had earlier stated that Pillaiyaan had been taken into custody over the B’caloa varsity VC’s disappearance. Thereafter Pillaiyaan was being detained over the Easter bombings. According to Tamil media reports, Pillaiyaan was being asked to name those allegedly involved in the Easter bombings and become a state witness.

Gammanpila also revealed that Pillaiyaan had broken down and cried during his meeting with him. Pillaiyaan had said that he had risked his life and fought with the armed forces against the LTTE. Gammanpila called Pillaiyaan a national hero who helped save the country and said he should not be treated like this.

Channel 4 TV

Pillaiyaan’s alleged connection to the Easter bombings was first revealed on British TV in 2023. Britain’s Channel 4 TV aired the documentary “Sri Lanka’s Easter bombings” in its “Dispatches” program on Tuesday 5 September 2023. Pillaiyaan’s former secretary and ex-TMVP spokesperson Mohammed Milhilar Mohammed Hanzeer alias Azad Maulana was the whistleblower who made the stunning revelations about his erstwhile boss. 

Azad Maulana (spelled as Mowlana and Moulana also) hailing from Maruthamunai in the Eastern Province, fled to Europe and sought political asylum in Switzerland. Azad Maulana alleged that Pillaiyaan and former State Intelligence Service chief Maj-Gen Suresh Sallay had links with the Easter bombers and were involved in the conspiracy. Both Pillaiyaan and Sallay immediately denied the allegations. What then were the allegations made by Azad Maulana against Pillaiyaan and Suresh Sallay concerning the Easter bombings?

The documentary aired on Dispatches by Channel 4 on 5 September titled Sri Lanka’s Easter bombings, was screened by the Universal Human Rights Council (UHRC) on the evening of Thursday, 21 September 2023 in Geneva. The venue was the Octagon Campus 2, Chemin du Pavillon 1218 Grand Saconne. 

The documentary’s Director and Producer Thom Walker and Executive Producer Ben de Pear were present at the screening which commenced after a brief introduction.  

There was a discussion after the screening. Prior to the discussion, copies of a detailed statement issued by Azad Maulana were distributed to those present. Azad Maulana who was not present physically answered questions via video link later. 

The statement issued by Azad Maulana was a clarification and amplification of the comments made by him in the documentary. The information he divulged in the film was placed in perspective by providing more details in the statement. In view of its current relevance and importance, Azad Maulana’s statement is reproduced in full below:

Azad Maulana’s statement 

“The documentary Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings, which was broadcast on 5 September by the British Channel 4 has created considerable interest in Sri Lanka. Various articles and editorials have been written, and while the documentary has generated some support for an international independent investigation, a lot of rumours and fake news have been published. Even my wife and children have been slandered and their pictures have been published on social media. I would therefore like to make the following statement.” 

“From 2006 to February 2022 I have worked for Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyaan, a Member of Parliament, State Minister of Rural Road Development, former Chief Minister of the Eastern Province and leader of the political party Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), which had earlier been a militant group. I was the Propaganda Secretary as well as the spokesperson of the TMVP. I was not a fighter. Indeed, I have never been trained to use arms.” 

“Because of my position, I had access to important and secret information related to the Easter Sunday suicide attacks as well as many political killings that took place during the period of the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa.” 

“On 21 April 2019 on Easter Sunday a terror attack killed 269 persons including 45 children, and 40 foreigners and injured more than 500 others. Only when the media revealed the identity of the suicide bombers after the attack did I realise that I had strong evidence about the masterminds and other perpetrators and also the motivation for this terror attack. I have in no way been involved in preparing or carrying out these terrible and devastating attacks.”  

“Following the defeat of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government in 2015, Pillaiyaan was arrested and imprisoned in the Batticaloa prison under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in connection with the murder of former Tamil National Alliance Member of Parliament Joseph Pararajasingham, who was shot dead on the Christmas Day of 2005 at the St. Mary’s Cathedral, Batticaloa.”

“As a Secretary to Pillaiyaan, the court had granted me permission, along with his lawyers, to meet Pillaiyaan to discuss legal matters. 

During a visit in September 2017, Pillaiyaan told me that some Muslim prisoners from Kattankudy were with him in the same cell. A father, his son and six others had been remanded for extremist activities and attacks on another Muslim group in Kattankudy. They were from an organisation called National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ).” 

“On Pillaiyaan’s request, I met Sainy Moulavi. Later, Pillaiyaan asked me to contact the Military Intelligence (MI) to arrange funds for these prisoners’ relatives to pay their bail. They were released on 24th October 2017. At the end of January 2018, Pillaiyaan told me to arrange a secret meeting between Suresh Sallay, who was then a Brigadier, and Sainy Moulavi’s group. Pillaiyaan said that Suresh Sallay would inform me about the meeting place and time.”

“A few days later Suresh Sallay contacted me and asked me to request Sainy Moulavi to come to the Puttalam Vanaththavillu area. The next day I travelled with an MI officer from Colombo to Puttalam, Sainy Moulavi’s group came from Kurunegala. Pillaiyaan advised us not to use my own vehicle or driver for this meeting and said that the transport would be facilitated by the MI.” 

“The meeting took place in early February 2018 at a large coconut farm of 50 to 60 acres, located outside of Puttalam. Suresh Sallay arrived in a grey colour Toyota car with a driver. Sainy Moulavi arrived 30 minutes later with a group of six persons in a white van. Sainy Moulavi introduced his elder brother Moulavi Zaharan as the leader of the group. The meeting lasted for more than two hours. I did not participate in the meeting but waited outside.” 

“After the meeting, I travelled to Batticaloa and on the next day updated Pillaiyaan about the meeting. Pillaiyaan said that Suresh Sallay had a big plan and a deal with Zahran’s group like the one with TMVP. He told me to keep the information about this meeting secret and to assist if they asked for any help. Besides the meeting with Sainy Moulavi in prison in September 2017, I met Zahran and his group only one time in February 2018 during the meeting with Suresh Sallay. Apart from this, I had no connection or relationship with them. I was not aware of their terrorist intent or plan until after the terror attack.” 

“On Easter Sunday, 21st April 2019, Suresh Sallay contacted me at around 7 a.m. and told me to go immediately to the Taj Samudra Hotel in Colombo, to pick up a person who was waiting there and take the person’s phone. I told him that I was currently in Batticaloa and not in Colombo.” 

“About an hour after this conversation, simultaneous terrorist attacks took place across the country. Immediately after the attacks Pillaiyaan sent a message through a prison guard and asked me to meet him urgently. When I saw him in prison at about 11 a.m. on Easter Sunday he told me that the mastermind behind the Easter attack was Suresh Sallay and that he had assumed that an attack like this would happen.” 

“He asked me to call Sainy Moulavi to find out, there was, however, no response. It was only because of media reports in the evening that I realised that the participants in the meeting that I had organised at the request of Pillaiyan were indeed suicide bombers involved in the Easter attack.”

“Through the President’s Investigation Commission and the inquiries of the CID I also learned that the person whom Suresh Sallay had wanted me to meet was Jameel, the bomber who had been tasked to carry out a suicide attack at the Taj Samudra Hotel but then, in a last-minute change of plans, left the Taj and later exploded himself in a small hotel in Dehiwela.”

“Pillaiyan and the TMVP supported Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the last Presidential Election. After Gotabaya Rajapaksa became President, Suresh Sallay returned to Sri Lanka and was promoted to Major General and appointed as Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), a job he continues to hold.” 

“The government however did not take quick action to release Pillaiyaan as promised because the former Attorney General refused to withdraw the charge sheet against Pillaiyaan as there was conclusive evidence against him. 

During the General Election of 5th August 2020, when he was still in prison, Pillaiyaan was elected Member of Parliament.” 

“After the election, Pillaiyaan asked me and his brother to meet Suresh Sallay to tell him not to forget how Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the present government came into power and to warn him that he would have to pay a huge price if Pillaiyaan were not released.”

“A few days later the new Attorney General withdrew the case against Pillaiyaan at the High Court of Batticaloa. Besides my knowledge about the organisers of the Easter Sunday attacks, I have detailed information about many political murders and abductions which took place between 2005 and 2015.” 

“A large number of these killings were committed by the Tripoli Platoon, a killing squad operating undercover in the intelligence unit of the Sri Lankan Army. The unit was initially led by Major Prabath Bulathwatte and later by Colonel Shammi Kumararatne. It was under the direct command of Maj. Gen. Amal Karunasena, who then had been Director of MI and was later made Army Chief of Staff. This platoon reported to Gotabaya Rajapaksa directly and received orders only from him when he was Secretary of Defence.” 

“This platoon and the TMVP were responsible for a number of major political assassinations during and after the war, including the assassinations and disappearances of journalists. They are particularly responsible for the assassinations of former parliamentarians Joseph Pararajasingam and Nadarajah Raviraj, the assassinations of the journalists Lasantha Wickrematunge, Sivaram and Nadesan as well as the disappearances of Professor Sivasubramaniam Raveendranath, Vice-Chancellor of the Eastern University and the cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda.” 

“I also have information about many other Human Rights violations carried out jointly by the MI and the TMVP. Although I did not agree with what they were doing, I could not disassociate from them as I feared for my life. Until today I fear that the Sri Lankan authorities would abduct, imprison, or even kill me.” 

“Compounding my fears, the Police visited my mother and my sister soon after the broadcast of Channel Four’s documentary, and two unknown persons checked with my sister’s son in an attempt to discover my telephone number and my address.” 

“The President’s Commission and the Parliamentary Select Committee, which were both tasked to investigate the Easter Sunday bomb attack, failed to reveal the truth about the mastermind and the perpetrators of this tragedy.” 

“As mentioned in the Fundamental Rights petition filed in the Supreme Court on 18 February 2022 by Shani Abeysekera, the former director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the investigation team he led had uncovered important evidence of connections between the attackers and the Army but were prevented by the Army from continuing their investigation.”

“Because of my knowledge, I have been severely threatened by the Sri Lankan government’s intelligence service. I fled to Europe seeking political asylum to save my life.”

International Independent Investigation

 “As a witness to the planning of several terrorist attacks, political assassinations and kidnappings in Sri Lanka, I am willing to testify in investigations into these crimes. I do not believe, however, that the authorities in Sri Lanka have an interest in revealing the truth. I will therefore only bear witness before an international independent investigation.”

(The writer can be reached at [email protected].)