Two former LTTE cadres convicted of CBSL bombing get presidential pardon

The former LTTE members, who were found guilty of the bomb attack on the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) on 31 January 1996 which killed 91 individuals, have been granted presidential pardon.

Accordingly, former LTTE member Selliah Navaratnam who had been sentenced to 200 years in prison and S. Shanmugarajah who was sentenced to life in prison have been pardoned and released from prison on Tuesday (18), according to the Department of Prisons.

Selliah Navaratnam is currently 69 years old, while Shanmugarajah is aged 56.

The terror attack – which left 91 individuals including 41 CBSL officers dead, 08 CBSL officers totally blind, 11 CBSL officials partially paralysed, and few hundreds wounded – was carried out using a lorry containing about 440 pounds of high explosives which were crashed through the main gate of the Central Bank, followed by a suicide bombing that tore through the bank and damaged eight other buildings nearby.