Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said the six-member Ministerial Committee appointed to study the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) that probed the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks has given instructions to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) to conduct further investigations and also set up a new institution, if necessary, and to inform the Attorney General regarding the steps to be taken against the then Ministers who were in charge of the police but failed to take any remedial measures to prevent the carnage despite prior warnings by the state intelligence agencies.
Minister Ranatunga who was also a member of the six-member Ministerial Committee said the PCoI report has not mentioned anything about the then Ministers who were in charge of the police and shirked their duties to prevent those multiple terror attacks on April 21, 2019 on Easter Sunday. However, such references and information are there in the evidence given before the PCoI, the Minister told the Sunday Observer yesterday.
The Ministerial Committee has given its recommendations regarding so many references made in the PCoI and the Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security. Sometimes, no evidence had been recorded from those who were in charge of the police at that time so that action should be taken against them as well. Such matters should be referred to the AG as the political authority is not in a position to initiate legal action against the accused.
Minister Ranatunga said the recommendations in the PCoI report on politicians, police officers and Government officials who have been charged under the criminal offences for shirking their responsibilities were referred to the Attorney General.
The Ministerial Committee has also instructed that those recommendations be implemented.
The Committee has also instructed the IGP to conduct an immediate investigation on the police officers who have been accused in the PCoI report and initiate legal action against them.
He said it is up to the AG’s Department to take legal action on the criminal charges levelled against all those who shirked their responsibilities to prevent the Easter Sunday carnage.
The Minister said the six-member Ministerial Committee has made over 70 recommendations after studying the reports of the PCoI and Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security.
Minister Ranatunga said recommendations have also been made to provide compensation to the families of the victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks and assist the children who lost their parents to continue with their education.
The Committee report has made several recommendations relating to education.
He said it has also recommended to confiscate the properties of those who were involved in those terror attacks and take action against them under the money laundering laws.
The Attorney General’s Department and the IGP should immediately act to bring the culprits to book. This is the request made by Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith as well. Chairman of the six-member Ministerial Committee, Minister Chamal Rajapaksa handed over its report to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat on April 5.