Days after the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) raids exposed links between the conspirators of the Easter Sunday blasts in Sri Lanka and a few Indians, a top military officer of the island nation have now confirmed the suspects' visit to Kerala, Bengaluru and Kashmir.
Confirming the international links, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army, made the revelation in an exclusive interview with the BBC TV on Thursday. "They have gone to India, they’ve gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they’ve travelled to Kerala state. Those are the information available with us (sic)," Senanayake told the BBC.
Senanayake also claimed the terrorists were probably imparting training to like-minded individuals in Kerala and Kashmir, states at the southern and northern extremes in India. When asked how were they involved in these two Indian regions, the commander said, "Denitely in some sorts of training or to make some more links towards other organisations outside the country".
The Lieutenant General also hinted that the serial blasts were probably plotted by external elements. "By looking at the pattern of operation and the places that the leadership has travelled to, there has to be some outside involvement of some leadership or instructions," the Army Commander said.
The Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the Easter Sunday blasts that ripped through Sri Lanka, killing around 300 people in churches and hotels in Colombo and elsewhere.
The NIA has obtained evidence that Riyaz Aboobacker, arrested from Kerala's Palakkad, was interested in the speeches of Zahran Hashim, the main conspirator of the Sri Lankan blasts and the leader of the National Thowheed Jamath. Riyaz had also shared these speeches on social media and the NIA reportedly has evidence on this.
The NIA officials have also found that the individuals in its custody had links with the IS recruitment that took place in Kerala's Kasaragod. Sri Lankan media, too, had reported earlier that Hashim had visited Kerala on several occasions.
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Sri Lankan English daily Daily Mirror had reported soon after the blasts on April 21 that Hashim, an Islamic fanatic, had made routine trips to Kerala and Tamil Nadu. He had come to Panayikkulam, near Aluva, and Malappuram—both in Kerala—where he reportedly made incendiary speeches, the daily reported.
Meanwhile, the Lieutenant General admitted that there was indeed lapses on the part of his country's administration as it could not avoid the blasts, despite receiving alerts from the Indian intelligence services. "We had some information and intelligence-sharing, situations and military intelligence on a different direction and the others were different and there was a gap that everybody could see today," Senanayake stated.
"This is not a blame game as such, but as the Chief of the Army, I believe that everybody who is responsible for intelligence-gathering and national security are to be blamed, including the political hierarchies as well," he replied when the BBC reporter asked who should be blamed for this oversight.
The interview has been posted on the official website of the Sri Lankan Army.
This article was first published on Onmanorama
