The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) produced former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday under tight security, in connection with ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.
Colombo Fort Magistrate Isuru Neththikumara directed the CID to submit a progress report on 20 May covering all investigations into suspects arrested in connection with the attacks. The Magistrate also ordered Sallay to remain in detention pending the continuation of the probe.
The court appearance was ordered at the previous hearing, when Sallay was named as the third suspect in the case.
Sallay was arrested by the CID on 25 February in Peliyagoda and is being held under a 90-day detention order under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) for further interrogation over alleged links to the attacks.
The hearing comes one day after the Additional Solicitor General told the same court that Sallay was a “key driving force” behind the Easter Sunday bombings — the strongest public prosecution statement yet on his alleged culpability.
Sallay currently faces two parallel legal tracks: the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s criminal proceedings on the Easter case, and a separate writ petition filed at the Court of Appeal on 6 April challenging his detention under the PTA. The 20 May progress report is now the next significant watchdate in the Fort Magistrate track.
