Former TID head tells PSC how he monitored Muslim fanatics

Former head of Terrorist Investigation Division Senior DIG Nalaka de Silva yesterday told the Parliamentary Select Committee probing the Easter Sunday carnage that he had been aware of the subversive activities of Islam fanatics led by Zahran group since 2013.

The Senior DIG said that information of National Thowheed Jamaath leader Zaharan leading a campaign based on Islamic fundamentalist teachings had been reported to the State Intelligence Service in 2013 and 2014 while he was serving there.

He told the PSC that he had continued to probe the group and the progress of those investigations had been reported to the IGP’s Office directly.

De Silva said that he had informed the court of Zaharan’s terrorist activities and obtained a warrant for his arrest. However Zahran had left the country by that time. Zahran’s movements were reported to INTERPOL which subsequently issued a Blue Alert on him, De Silva said. He said that he knew that Zahran would launch a terror attack one day and kept monitoring the latter’s movements and if he had been taken into custody and put behind bars, the Easter Sunday attacks could have been prevented.

De Silva informed the PSC that he had never attended the National Security Council meetings. However he had attended the state intelligence review meeting held every Tuesday with Secretary to the Ministry of Defence presiding.

(Source: The Island – By Ajith Alahakoon)