Did Sirisena provide copper to the alleged bomb factory?

It is reported that President Maithripala Sirisena had intervened to provide scrap copper to a factory owned by Inshaf Ahmed who blew himself up at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel on Easter Sunday.

In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Industrial Development Board (IDB) on 06 June 2018, the then Director General of Public Relations to the President, Shantha Bandara requests the IDB Chairman to provide 500 tonnes of scrap copper at concessionary rates to the company owned by Inshaf Ahmed.

The letter, printed on a Presidential Secretariat letterhead, also notes that the company brings in a large amount of foreign exchange to the country and that they have requested help from the President to expand their operations.

The Industrial Development Board is an institution falling under the purview of the Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen.
Bathiudeen had been subjected to suspicion in both mainstream and social media as the person who had provided scrap metal/copper to the Easter Sunday attackers. 

However, this letter proves that it was under Sirisena’s instructions that a factory owned by one of the suicide bombers got 500 tonnes of scrap copper.

Police believe the factory was used to build the suicide vests using explosive triacetone triperoxide.

On 22 April, nine employees of the factory were arrested by the Wellampitiya Police on April 22 and was remanded until May 6, after being produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate. However, the Court had subsequently released the nine suspects on bail.