On Tuesday, the Islamic State terror group said it had carried out the attacks, and released video of men it says were the bombers, pledging allegiance to the group.
Nine suicide bombers, belonging to local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linked to ISIS, carried out a series of blasts that tore through three churches and as many luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, killing 258 people on Easter Sunday on April 21, 2019.
Sri Lankan Police Arrest MP Rishad Bathiudeen In Connection With 2019 Easter Sunday Terror Attacks
Aftermath of terror attack at a Church on Easter in 2019 (@news ghana/Twitter)
To speed up the investigation related to 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, Sri Lankan police on Saturday (24 April) arrested a top Muslim leader and a member of parliament.
The arrested MP, Rishad Bathiudeen who is a leader of the All Ceylon Makkal Party.
Police took him and his brother Riyaaj into custody under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), reports
Times Now. They were arrested under the PTA based on circumstantial and scientific evidence that they had connections with the suicide bombers who carried out the attacks, police spokesperson Ajith Rohana said in a statement.