207th Day of the Main Easter Attack Trial – HC (TAB) 2972/21
Date: 15th June 2026|
Venue: Special Permanent Three-Judge High Court (Trial-at-Bar), 2nd Floor, MCC Building, Adhikarana Mawatha, Colombo 12.
At the commencement of the proceedings, on behalf of the 2nd, 7th, 8th, 10th, 18th, and 20th accused, Mr. Kaneel Madhumage appeared together with Mr. Vimukthi Rajapaksha. On behalf of the 12th and 13th accused, Mr. Ravindu Yasas appeared.
At the outset, PW-2251 – Mr. Mohammad Lafir, was released as he was incapable of giving evidence, and PW-2292 was also released due to her absence.
The first witness for the day was PW-2291 – Ms. Larina Maulana. The witness stated that she had obtained an apartment at Lucky Plaza, Kollupitiya, on rent from PW-2251 – Mr. Mohammad Lafir, with the intention of subletting it. Thereafter, through a broker named Salman, a person named Mubarak contacted the witness and obtained the apartment on lease for a period of two months. However, Mubarak had occupied the apartment for only about one week. The apartment had been leased approximately two weeks prior to the blast.
The witness was shown P-834 and P-835, and she identified the person appearing in the photographs as Mubarak, who was killed in the blast at Kingsbury Hotel. No cross-examination was conducted.
The next witness was PW-1412 – Mr. Bonifast Joseph. The witness stated that he worked at Lucky Plaza, Kollupitiya, as the Manager from 2019 to 2021. He was responsible for maintaining the CCTV footage records of Lucky Plaza.
The witness was shown CCTV footage marked P-16 CD, which contained footage from the main entrance and side entrance of Lucky Plaza. The witness identified the relevant locations shown in the footage. No cross-examination was conducted.
The next witness was PW-2293 – Mr. Mohammed Yusuf Ali. The witness stated that he was the person who handed over the key of the apartment belonging to Mr. Mohammad Lafir to Ms. Larina Maulana. He further stated that he was the driver of Mr. Mohammad Lafir. No cross-examination was conducted.
The next witness was PW-1027 – Mr. Mohamed Infan. The witness stated that he is the brother of Fatima Jeffrey, who was married to Mohamed Ilham in Dematagoda. Fatima Jeffrey died by carrying out a suicide blast at her residence in Dematagoda on 21st April 2019. As a result of the said blast, her three children also died. Mohamed Ilham, the husband of Fatima Jeffrey, carried out the suicide attack at the Shangri-La Hotel.
During his evidence, the witness was shown several CDs containing CCTV footage. The witness identified the persons appearing in the said CCTV footage as Shahran Hashim, Mohamed Ilham, and Mohamed Inshaf, who is the brother of Mohamed Ilham.
The witness was shown CD No. P-3, containing CCTV footage relating to the Shangri-La Hotel, and he identified the persons appearing therein as Mohamed Ilham and Shahran Hashim. The witness further identified photographs marked P-123 and P-124 as photographs of Mohamed Inshaf, the brother of Mohamed Ilham. He also identified P-109 as the residence of his sister situated in Dematagoda.
Thereafter, the witness was shown P-88 CD, which contained CCTV footage relating to Mohamed Inshaf at the Taprobane Restaurant, Cinnamon Grand Hotel, on 20th April 2019, and he identified the person appearing in the footage as Mohamed Inshaf.
The witness was also shown P-13 CD and identified the CCTV footage contained therein as videos of Mohamed Inshaf at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel dated 17th April 2019.
Further, the witness was shown P-23 CD, which contained CCTV footage from Pilawoos Restaurant, and he identified the person appearing in the said footage as Mohamed Ilham.
The witness was also shown P-89 CD containing CCTV footage of Mohamed Inshaf at Bandaranaike International Airport on 19th April 2019, and he identified the person appearing therein as Mohamed Inshaf.
The witness was also shown the CCTV footage contained in the P-840 hard disk, relating to Lucky Plaza, and he identified the persons appearing in the said footage as Mohamed Ilham and Shahran Hashim.
Since a considerable amount of time was taken to show the CCTV footage to the witness and obtain identification of the persons appearing therein, PW-1029 PW-1030, and PW-2250 were temporarily released and directed to appear on the next date.
Further, the corrections to the proceedings relating to the Voir Dire inquiry of the 18th accused will be commenced on the next date.
Accordingly, the proceedings for the day were concluded. The Court will resume proceedings on 16.06.2026 at 10.00 a.m.
