The National Investigation Agency of India (NIA) carried out raids in Thanjavur and Tiruchirapalli this week, as they detained two men over suspected links to the Easter Sunday bomb attacks in Colombo and Batticaloa that killed hundreds of people.

The two men are reportedly linked to accomplices of Zahran Hashim, the alleged mastermind behind the Easter bombing attacks.

The NIA’s actions follow the arrest of Mohammed Azarudheen and Shiek Hidayathulla on June 12 and cases being registered against six persons on May 30 from Coimbatore.

An NIA spokesman stated that their actions had been as a result of searches across social media platforms.

Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa dismissed accusations that he had played a role in the thousands of abductions that took place through infamous ‘white vans’, claiming that they were all “bogus allegations”.

Rajapaksa spoke with The Hindu’s Suhasini Haidar and also said that he was against devolving police powers in accordance with the Sri Lankan constitution’s 13th amendment, instead claiming he was "willing to discuss alternatives”.

When asked to give assurances that disappearances and violence against journalists would not return, he said, “those are bogus allegations, and certainly nothing of the sort was done by me”.

Tamil activists arrested by Malaysian authorities have complained of mistreatment, torture and intimidation from security forces, which includes forced confessions and threats to their families.

A lawyer for one of the arrested men, 57-year-old grocery store owner B Subramaniam, said “during the arrest and subsequent detention for 21 days, he was tortured and forced to say ‘I am an LTTE member’”.

“He faced all sorts of threats, including a threat that he would be sent to prison for life if he didn’t do this (what was asked by the police),” lawyer S Selvam added.

The Sri Lankan army put up road-blocks in Batticaloa to prevent people from going to Vakarai for Maaveerar Naal on Wednesday and intimidated Tamil journalists who were reporting on the commemorations.

Journalists reported that they were stopped en route to Vakarai Thuyilum Illam (LTTE cemetery) by a Sri Lankan army road-block and turned away by the troops stationed there.

The journalists took a different route but were again stopped by Sri Lankan soldiers who demanded identification from the journalists.

<p>State Minister Vidura Wickramanayaka, told the&nbsp;Sunday Observer, that “as a sovereign state, we cannot let the UNHRC or any other organisation take us for a ride.”</p> <p>Commenting on Resolution 30/1 that Sri Lanka co-sponsored in 2015, Wickramanayaka said:</p> <p>“It is my personal view that the previous government probably did not know that we are a sovereign nation. They would have thought we were a colony.&nbsp;At that particular time they may have thought it was the best thing to do, drawing that line with America that originally sponsored it.”</p>

Canada announced that it will provide $8.3 million to support mine-affected communities, including $2 million to the North-East for de-mining work.

File photograph: Tamil women carrying out de-mining work in Thunukkai, March 2010 (Russell Watkins / Department for International Development)

In a statement, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne and International Development Minister Karina Gould vowed to commit to the Ottawa Convention.

<p>Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary, Kamal Gunaratne,&nbsp;said that military bases in the North-East will remain as they are for "national security" purposes, <a href="http://www.colombopage.com/archive_19B/Nov30_1575125445CH.php"><em>Colombo Page</em> </a>reports.</p> <p>"The security forces should be in right places to safeguard the country. Military camps will not be removed compromising national security by listening to requests from any parties" Gunaratne told a media conference.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

India offers Sri Lanka $450 million in credit for development and security despite concerns over the newly appointed President’s human rights record.

This announcement follows President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s first foreign visit to India, where this agreement was reached. $400 million is offered in terms of development and infrastructure and a further $50 million for national security.

In a statement released by India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, he claimed that ‘security and development of our two countries are inseparable’. 

Hundreds of Tamils gathered at a destroyed LTTE cemetery in Amparai to mark Maaveerar Naal on Weednesday, joining Tamils across the North-East and around the world in remembering those who gave their lives in the Tamil struggle.

See footage from the event below.

Tamils in Trincomalee commemorated Maaveerar Naal on Wednesday, alongside the rest of the Tamil nation across the North-East and around the world. 

See footage from the Sampur Thuyilum Illam - an LTTE cemetery that has been destroyed by the Sri Lankan military - below.