Development Strategies and International Trade Deputy Minister Nalin Bandara urged Acting Inspector General of Police C.D. Wickramaratne and other investigation units to question MP Keheliya Rambukwella to reveal the alleged motive behind the paying of money to Zahran and his fellow terrorists.MP Bandara was addressing the media at the Deputy Minister’s office in Colombo yesterday.
He said that he would send a letter to the Acting IGP requesting him to question Rambukwella relating to the alleged links with this terror group, which brought havoc to the peaceful atmosphere of the country.
Bandara alleges that during a recent political talk show he had with Rambukwella on a certain TV channel, Rambukwella had accepted that Zahran and his acolytes were allegedly paid money between 2010 and 2015 during the last regime. According to Bandara, MP Rambukwella has accepted that Zahran and his fellow terrorists had been allegedly paid money with a view to receiving intelligence information. But during the said period there wasn’t a war in the country.
Bandara said that it is a mystery as to why such a terror group, which killed over 250 and wounded several hundreds of innocent people by carrying out the Easter Sunday terror attacks, were allegedly paid with public funds.
Therefore, it is the duty of the Police and other investigation units to probe in to this and to find out why those terrorists were allegedly paid money and the motive for these payments.
“It is a mystery as to why the previous government had allegedly fed Zahran and such terror groups.
Besides, it was also revealed that Pottu Amman was also allegedly paid money in those days.
Then it is up to the Police Department and other intelligence units including the CID to reveal why those terrorists and terror organsations were allegedly paid money by questioning Rambukwella,” he added.