Courtesy Hiru News

Former Member of Parliament Sarath Weerasekara stated that the arrest of retired Major General Suresh Sallay, former head of the State Intelligence Service, is a calculated move to mislead the public.

Speaking at a press conference in Colombo, he claimed the arrest serves as a deceptive measure intended to appease the Cardinal, the Catholic Church, and the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks while diverting public attention.

He further noted that even the Police Media Unit appeared to lack clarity regarding the specific grounds for the retired officer’s arrest.

The former MP addressed allegations made by Azad Maulana, the former media secretary to Pillayan, in a Channel 4 documentary.

Maulana claimed Sallay met with ringleader Zahran Hashim in 2018 to discuss creating instability to favor Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidential bid.

Weerasekara dismissed these as false statements from a channel he described as consistently anti-military, suggesting this narrative likely prompted the arrest.

He highlighted that Sallay served at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Malaysia from December 2016 to December 2018 and attended the National Defence College in India throughout 2019.

He argued that Sallay was not in the country during the periods the alleged meetings occurred and questioned how such a meeting could be possible.

Additionally, he cited Pillayan’s assertions that Azad Maulana fled the country to seek political asylum and pointed to Maulana’s links with a doctor who treated Zahran’s brother after a pre-attack accidental explosion as a reason for their current absence from the country.