Former State Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, alias Pillayan, and two others arrested in connection with a series of murders carried out using a T-56 firearm in the Batticaloa area in 2008 have been further remanded until November 23.
The order was issued today (November 10) by the Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court.
The suspects are accused of several killings in 2008, including the shooting deaths of two individuals, one of whom was a police officer, in the Kallady area; the shooting deaths of two others, including a member of the TMVP party, in Kattankudy; and the abduction and murder of a businessman in Karaiyakkantivu, Vavunathivu.
In April 2025, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested Pillayan under the Prevention of Terrorism Act in connection with the murders. Two military intelligence informants residing in Kattankudy, identified as Mohamed Sifan and Mohamed Sakeed, were also arrested in November 2025.
The CID subsequently filed a case against Pillayan, the two intelligence informants and Mohamed Faiz, also known as ‘Police Faiz’, who is currently residing in London, before the Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court on June 17, 2026.
When the case was taken up in open court today, the two remanded suspects, Mohamed Sifan and Mohamed Sakeed, were produced before the court, while Pillayan appeared via video conferencing.
Following the proceedings, the court ordered that all three suspects be further remanded until November 23.