A request made by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe to speak with former State Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, also known as Pilleyan, currently held under a detention order by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), has been rejected.

Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala confirmed that Wickremesinghe’s request, made through one of his security officers via a phone call to CID officials, was turned down on legal grounds. The minister stated that speaking over the phone with a suspect in custody is prohibited.

In contrast, former Parliamentarian Udaya Gammanpila has been granted permission to meet with Chandrakanthan. According to Minister Wijepala, Gammanpila had requested access in his capacity as Chandrakanthan’s legal counsel. The meeting took place at the CID premises under the supervision of CID officers.

Chandrakanthan was arrested on 8 April in Batticaloa in connection with the 2006 abduction and disappearance of Professor Sivasubramaniam Ravindranath, the former Vice-Chancellor of the Eastern University. The CID has since obtained a 90-day detention order to continue investigations. However, minister Wijepala said in Parliament that Chandrakanthan was arrested pertaining to the investigations into the Easter Sunday terror attacks in 2019.