Lankadeepa newspaper has reported that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is currently investigating five murders allegedly involving former Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, also known as Pillayan, who is currently detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
According to the report, multiple CID teams have already launched investigations. However, sources indicate that preliminary information points to Pillayan’s alleged involvement in at least 30 murders. Notably, it is suspected that a cemetery at an undisclosed location may have been created as a direct result of crimes committed by the Pillayan group.
Investigations have also reportedly uncovered evidence linking Pillayan to the murder of a police officer.
The CID further revealed that these findings are linked to ongoing investigations into the abduction and disappearance of Professor Sivasubramaniam Ravindranath, the former Vice-Chancellor of the Eastern University. Several specialized CID teams have been deployed to Batticaloa in connection with this case.
Pillayan was arrested by the CID on April 8, based on his suspected role in the abduction of Prof. Ravindranath on December 15, 2006. Ravindranath served as Vice-Chancellor from 2004 to 2006. Notably, despite the 19-year gap, Pillayan has been detained under the Temporary Provisions Act (TPA) instead of being presented before a court.
Pillayan’s history includes joining the LTTE in 1990 at the age of 16. He later aligned with Karuna Amman in 2004 and subsequently joined the Mahinda Rajapaksa government, serving as the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province from 2008 to 2012. In the 2020 general elections, he was elected to Parliament as the highest preference vote-getter in the Batticaloa District and was later appointed as State Minister for Road Development under the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration.
Additionally, Pillayan has been implicated in the assassination of MP Joseph Pararajasingham, who was shot and killed while attending a Christmas Day church service in Batticaloa on December 25, 2005. A formal investigation into the incident was initiated in 2015, resulting in his detention under the PTA.
During his time in custody, Pillayan reportedly came into contact with Ze Moulavi’s brother, who was affiliated with Saharan Hashim, the ringleader of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. Azath Maulana, a former associate of Pillayan, later claimed on a Channel 4 (UK) documentary that this connection helped establish communication between Saharan’s group and Major General Suresh Saleh, the head of State Intelligence Service.
(With the inputs from Sinhala language articles)