Days after the Easter Sunday massacre in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan army chief Mahesh Senanayake told a BBC interviewer that some of the 12 suicide bombers had traveled to Kashmir & parts of India (Bangalore & Kerala state) probably for terror training & to make links with other subversive groups. Reacting sharply to the unsubstantiated accusation, a top intelligence official in Srinagar (who did not wish to be named) said there was no proof that any of the bombers had visited Kashmir for terror training or any other “subversive activity.” An official in the Indian Home Ministry backed him up, saying that after investigation Sri Lankan security officials had themselves ruled out the possibility.
Asked why the ‘threats’ were not taken seriously after receiving intelligence information from India, General Senanayake said: “We had some information & intelligence-sharing, situations & military intelligence on a different direction & the others were different & there was a gap that everybody could see today.” Intelligence officials in Kashmir & India are still trying to figure out what the hell he was trying to say.