Information About the Attacks Sent to Cardinal Malcom Ranjith Before the 2019 Easter Tragedy? Find out the truth behind these recurring allegations!

Subscribe to our WhatsApp Channel

A claim that strikes at the heart of one of Sri Lanka’s deepest national wounds began circulating on social media: that former DIG Priyalal Dassanayake had given Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith prior warning of the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks and that, because the Cardinal allegedly suppressed this information, he is the true mastermind behind the bombings. We investigated whether any such warning ever reached the Cardinal.

Social Media Posts:

Facebook | Archived Link

Between 2019 and 2026, several investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks have been conducted, including the Malalgoda Committee, the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), the Janak de Silva Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI), the Imam Committee, the Jayaki de Alwis Committee, and CID investigations. However, none of these found that the Cardinal had prior knowledge of the attacks. We examined the matter further below.

Fact-Check:

These social media narratives stem from a statement by Sugeeshwara Bandara, former private secretary to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who claimed the Cardinal had an opportunity to avert the tragedy. We cross-checked this claim against the official reports on the Easter Sunday attacks.

What the Dassanayake Letter Actually Said and Where It Went

On 11 April 2019, then Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Special Protection Range, Priyalal Dassanayake, issued a directive to security personnel. It was based on highly classified intelligence from the State Intelligence Service (SIS) warning that a faction led by Mohamed Zahran was plotting coordinated suicide bombings targeting prominent churches and the High Commission of India.

According to both the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) report and the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) report, DIG Dassanayake sent this communication exclusively to internal police security divisions: the Ministerial Security Division (MSD), the Judicial Security Division, and the Diplomatic Security Division, instructing them to tighten security for the VIPs under their purview.

After the tragedy, former MP Harin Fernando publicly disclosed that while his father was hospitalised, a CID contact had tipped him off about a threat to churches a day in advance. Fernando had not officially read the security circular before the attack, but later posted an image of it on his X (formerly Twitter) account to question the security forces’ prior awareness.

As part of the same VIP security protocol, the internal police communication had also reached Mahinda Rajapaksa’s security detail. Speaking to the media after the tragedy, Rajapaksa confirmed his security personnel had received the advisory but said the Yahapalana government, paralysed by its own political infighting, failed to properly inform the opposition or the public about the threat.

The Supreme Court Named Those Held Responsible

In a landmark judgement on 12 January 2023, the Supreme Court found former President Maithripala Sirisena, then-IGP Pujith Jayasundera, and former SIS Chief Nilantha Jayawardena, among others, legally responsible for failing to properly convene the National Security Council despite possessing clear, actionable intelligence. The court ordered the respondents to pay compensation to the victims.

Across these judicial proceedings, parliamentary select committee reviews, and presidential commission inquiries, no evidence has ever surfaced to show that the Catholic Church or the Cardinal received advance intelligence, let alone suppressed it.

Was This Specific Letter Sent to the Cardinal?

While this intelligence circulated among the security details of politicians and VIPs, official investigations have established that neither the warning nor the specific intelligence letter was ever sent to the Catholic Church, any parish, or Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith before the attacks.

Reverend Father Cyril Gamini Fernando, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Colombo, states that the social media narratives claiming the Cardinal received advance intelligence are malicious propaganda that distorts politicians’ statements to mislead the public and shield the actual perpetrators. The Church maintains the Cardinal did not know the plot until news of the bombings broke on the morning of 21 April 2019.

Father Cyril Gamini further stated that no specialised police equipment or VIP security personnel were assigned to the Cardinal until the attacks had already concluded. A security detail was deployed to him only afterwards, making any claim that he received warnings through security channels factually untenable.

Separately, Major General Suresh Sallay, former Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), filed a defamation case against Father Cyril Gamini Fernando in the Colombo District Court, alleging that comments Father Fernando made during a 2021 webinar damaged his professional reputation regarding the Easter attacks. Father Cyril Gamini’s recent comments on this ongoing litigation are available here.

Reverend Father Jude Krishantha Fernando

Reverend Father Jude Krishantha Fernando, National Director of Mass Communications for the Archdiocese of Colombo, dismissed the claim entirely. He stated that the Church has repeatedly confirmed the Cardinal had no prior knowledge of the Easter Sunday attacks through any channel and challenged anyone making such allegations to prove it in court.

He noted that during his extensive testimony before the Presidential Commission investigating the attacks, Cardinal Ranjith underwent intense cross-examination by the bench. At no point did it emerge that he had any warning, and no witness in those hearings ever claimed to have informed him, testimony that remains a matter of public record.

“We are acutely aware that such fabrications are spread solely to derail the ongoing investigations and defame the Cardinal, who remains a steadfast voice demanding justice for the victims. We will not hesitate to take legal action against those making these baseless accusations. We urge the public to remain vigilant and not be misled by such propaganda.”

Why Was the Cardinal Absent from Easter Sunday Morning Mass in 2019?

A previous Fact Crescendo investigation already established that claims suggesting Cardinal Ranjith skipped the 2019 Easter Sunday morning service because he had prior knowledge of the attacks are misleading.

Under Catholic tradition, the principal Easter mass celebrating the Resurrection is held at midnight on Holy Saturday, the eve of Easter Sunday. As is his annual custom, the Archbishop officiated this midnight mass in 2019 at his official seat, St Lucia’s Cathedral in Kotahena.

Since attending the midnight vigil is customary, participating in an additional ordinary morning service on Easter Sunday is not standard practice. Even before 2019, the Cardinal had never officiated a morning mass on Easter Sunday, instead typically spending that time at the cancer hospital or visiting prison inmates.

The misconception was shared because after 2019, the Cardinal began attending Easter Sunday morning services at Kochchikade and Katuwapitiya specifically to commemorate the victims. Our earlier investigation into this question is available here.

Criminal Investigation Department (CID)

We contacted the Criminal Investigation Department directly to ask whether DIG Priyalal Dassanayake’s letter had been sent to Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith. The CID confirmed that the claim circulating on social media is false.

Join us to learn more about our fact-check investigations.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google News | TikTok | YouTube

Conclusion:

Our investigation confirms that the letter from DIG Priyalal Dassanayake was confined strictly to internal security use and the security details of select politicians. Social media claims that the Cardinal or the Catholic Church received this intelligence and deliberately passed up an opportunity to save lives, which is false, based on every investigation conducted to date.

As of June 2026, none of the established oversight bodies, including the PCoI, the Supreme Court Fundamental Rights judgement, the PSC report, or the ongoing CID investigations involving Sallay and Pillayan, have produced any evidence that the Cardinal or the Catholic clergy withheld prior intelligence.