Information has emerged that a large number of people, including police and military officers, were allegedly murdered and burned in a torture chamber operated by Shivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, also known as Pillayan, in the Sevanapitiya area of the Eastern Province. Pillayan is described as having been closely associated with the Rajapaksa administration.
These revelations have surfaced during investigations into the abduction and murder of the former Vice-Chancellor of the Eastern University, Professor Sivasubramaniam Ravindranath. Pillayan himself has reportedly confessed to a magistrate that the Vice-Chancellor was also murdered and burned in the same torture chamber.
When Pillayan was produced before the court yesterday (02), the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) presented extensive information relating to these matters. Pillayan, who had been detained under CID detention orders for nearly a year and interrogated, was subsequently remanded in custody.
The CID further informed the court that during the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration, Pillayan’s group had been issued 362 T‑56 firearms, 36 9‑mm pistols, and one Micro firearm, and that these weapons were never returned to the state. It was also stated that recent investigations have revealed Pillayan’s alleged involvement in the Easter Sunday attacks.
Meanwhile, Pillayan’s legal counsel, Udaya Prabath Gammanpila, stated at a media briefing that Pillayan is a war hero who contributed to the defeat of the LTTE.
( With the inputs from Lanka Truth)