Sri Lanka’s government has officially acknowledged for the first time that its former intelligence chief was directly involved in planning the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings. Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament on Wednesday that then–intelligence head Major General Suresh Salle guided the attacks that killed 279 people. Salle was arrested in February on charges of aiding and abetting terrorism and allegedly met with Muslim men weeks before the bombings to gather details about a Catholic church target.

According to the minister, Salle conspired with Islamist extremists and strategically directed them to carry out the attacks. He has denied all allegations through his lawyer and began a hunger strike in prison before being hospitalized. Opposition activists in Colombo have been protesting for his release.

Following Salle’s interrogation, a court imposed a travel ban on former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who had appointed Salle as intelligence chief in 2019. The Criminal Investigation Department has not yet named Rajapaksa a suspect but may question him soon, as the 2019 bombings remain Sri Lanka’s deadliest terrorist attack on civilians.