Interpol roped in for Lanka blasts probe

The Interpol will deploy a team to Sri Lanka to assist the national authorities investigating the series of bomb attacks that killed 359 and injured more than 500 people in the country on April 21, ANI reported.

According to an official statement checks are already being made against the organisation’s stolen and lost travel documents and nominal databases in order to identify potential investigative leads and international connections, reported Newsfirst.

Deployed at the request of Sri Lankan authorities, the Incident Response Team, will include specialists with expertise in crime scene examination, explosives, counter-terrorism, disaster victim identification and analysis.

If required, additional expertise in digital forensics, biometrics, as well as photo and video analysis will also be added to the team on the ground.

“As the Sri Lankan authorities investigate these horrific attacks, Interpol will continue to provide whatever support is necessary,” Newsfirst quoted Interpol secretary general Jürgen Stock as saying.

In addition to the IRT, support is also being provided through the 24-hour Command and Coordination Centre (CCC) at INTERPOL’s general secretariat headquarters in Lyon, France, as well as in Singapore and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is also assisting Sri Lankan authorities in investigations. According to sources, US president Donald Trump has pledged to support the island-nation in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

According to recent reports, the Sri Lankan president has asked the country’s police chief and defence secretary to resign due to intelligence failure regarding the attacks.