Sri Lanka’s former intelligence chief, retired Major General Suresh Sallay, has been arrested in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed around 279 people. According to police sources cited by Al Jazeera, Sallay was detained early morning in a suburban area of the capital. Investigators said he was arrested on charges of aiding and conspiring in the deadly attacks.

Sallay was promoted to head of the State Intelligence Service after Gotabaya Rajapaksa became president in 2019. The Easter Sunday attacks targeted three churches and three luxury hotels, injuring more than 500 people and killing 45 foreign nationals. Initially, a local armed group was blamed, but Sallay later faced allegations of involvement in planning the attacks.

A 2023 report by Britain’s Channel 4 alleged that Sallay met with the attackers and allowed the bombings to proceed to influence that year’s presidential election in favor of Rajapaksa.