Testifying before the PSC, Rishwin Ismeth, who identified himself as an atheist, said he had received death threats from Zahran Hashim’s group members for leaving his religion. He said that he had complained of Zaharan to the Police in 2016.
“I lodged a complaint at Police Headquarters on July 20, 2016 informing them that Zahran and his group were threatening to kill me. On two subsequent occasions on July 21 and August 26, 2017, two more complaints were made and statements were recorded. Nothing happened till the Easter Sunday disaster. “In the aftermath of the attacks, the Police contacted me on May 21, 2019 to check whether my address was correct. I was asked to be present at the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) on May 27. There I was told that four suspects now in custody for their links with Zahran’s group had confessed that they had followed me with the intention of kill me.”