– The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) today reported facts to the Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court implicating former State Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, widely known as “Pillayan,” and two other suspects in a series of fatal shootings that left five people dead across the Eastern Province in 2008.

According to the reports submitted by the CID following extensive investigations, the five homicides were carried out using T-56 assault rifles. The CID formally named Pillayan as the third suspect in connection with all three shooting incidents.The court submissions detailed that the first incident occurred on January 9, 2008, near a playground adjacent to the Murugan Temple in Kallady, Batticaloa, where two individuals, including a former police officer, were shot dead. The second shooting took place on May 22, 2008, resulting in the death of two individuals on Main Street within the Kattankudy Police Division. The final case under investigation involves the night-time shooting of a man by armed assailants on August 20, 2008, in the Kannangkuda area of the Vavunathivu Police Division.

The CID has identified three suspects in connection with these crimes. Investigators revealed that the first suspect has already fled the country and is currently residing abroad. The second and third suspects had previously been arrested and interrogated under detention orders by the CID since August 13 and November 13, 2025, respectively.Following their production before the Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court on Monday, the two detained suspects were ordered to be remanded in judicial custody by the Magistrate.

Meanwhile, the third suspect, Pillayan, is currently held at the Welikada Prison following his arrest for his alleged involvement in a separate, high-profile case concerning the abduction and murder of a former Vice Chancellor of Eastern University.Taking this into account, the Batticaloa Magistrate directed the Superintendent of Welikada Prison to produce Pillayan before the Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court on a future date when the murder cases are scheduled to be called again.

The Criminal Investigation Department is conducting further investigations into the killings.