Professor S. Raveendranath
Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested another suspect in connection with the 2006 abduction and disappearance of Professor S. Raveendranath, the former Vice Chancellor of Eastern University, as investigations into the high-profile case continue to unfold.
On Thursday night, CID detectives arrested K. Jeyakishan, also known as Jeyanthan, a resident of Valachchenai in the Eastern Province. Jeyakishan is a known close associate of Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan (Pillayan) and was previously employed at the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) office in Batticaloa. He was reportedly transported to Colombo for further interrogation.
A second arrest followed on Friday, involving Deva Sugath, also known as Kanth, a private bus driver who had served as Jeyakishan’s driver.
Both arrests are tied to the long-standing investigation into the enforced disappearance of Professor Raveendranath, who was abducted in December 2006 and has not been seen since. He disappeared after attending a conference in a high-security zone in Colombo.
Paramilitary actors aligned with the state, including members of the TMVP, are alleged to have been involved in the disappearance. The TMVP, which splintered from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), aligned itself with the Sri Lankan government and has been implicated in numerous human rights abuses, including assassinations, disappearances, and extortion.
Earlier this month, the CID arrested Pillayan, a former Eastern Province Chief Minister and ex-LTTE commander turned TMVP leader, in connection with the same case. He was detained on 8 April in Batticaloa and has since been held under a three-month detention order issued under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The order was signed by Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Though Pillayan has not been formally charged in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, recent remarks by Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala have suggested a potential link—further fuelling speculation over the scope of the CID’s ongoing investigation. The minister’s statement has been criticised by political allies of Pillayan, including Sinhala nationalist MP Udaya Gammanpila, who has accused the government of politically motivated arrests and misinformation.
The disappearance of Professor Raveendranath, a respected academic and administrator, drew international condemnation at the time and became emblematic of the climate of fear that prevailed in the Eastern Province. His case is one of thousands of unresolved disappearances, with Tamil families continuing to demand answers and justice nearly two decades later.
