NIRANJALA ARIYAWANSHA Courtesy Ceylon Today

Head of the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) DIG Nalaka de Silva would be arrested soon, as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has gathered evidence against him over the plot to kill President Maithripala Sirisena, a top official of the Police Department told Ceylon Today yesterday.

The CID had questioned Anti-Corruption Front member Namal Kumara for over three hours on Friday.

A voice tape with a conversation Namal Kumara had with the head of the TID has been released to the media.

Several high ranking Police officers confirmed that it was the voice of DIG Nalakade Silva on the tape.  Although we attempted thrice to contact the head of the TID he had disconnected his phone.

On Friday evening, the President had requested IGP PujithJayasundera to hand over the investigation to the CID and complete it as soon as possible. Defence Secretary KapilaWaidyaratne, Senior DIG of the CID Ravi Seneviratneand its Director SSP ShaniAbeysekera had participated in this meeting.  The National Police Commission (NPC) too had ordered theIGP to hand over the investigation to the CID.

“We ordered the IGP on Friday to expedite this investigation. We cannot spend several weeks on this since this is a very serious matter,” Chairman of the NPC, P. H. Manatunga told this newspaper.

He also said that the CID would be completing this investigation very soon.
He added that, Secretary to the President Udaya R. Seneviratne, Commandant of the Special Task Force, Senior DIG M. R. Latheef and Secretary to the Ministry of the Law and Order PadmasiriJayamanna had also requested that this investigation be handed over to the CID.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister RanilWickremesinghe too has requested the IGP for a report on this matter.  Meanwhile, a high ranking Police official told this newspaper that the special Police Unit, which was maintained at a house in Epitamulla Roadin Kotte, somemonths ago, had been engaged in tapping the phones of Politicians, Journalists and heads of the Police Department.It had been set up by the TID.

We were told that during this illegal activity, which was carried out under the leadership of DIG Nalakade Silva of the TID, the phone of former Director of the CID DIG SudathNagahamulla too had been tapped.