Although the Sri Lankan government blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), members of the Muslim community accused the STF of involvement in the massacre.

The ambulance transporting the only survivor was prevented by police from going to the hospital at a predominantly Muslim town called Kalmunai.

However, doubts were raised about how the interview was conducted as the survivor was held incommunicado; and Athaullah was suspected to have been behind the fabricated statements that Defence Ministry claimed it had received from several community organizations in the eastern province blaming the LTTE for the massacre.

Mohideen was also said to have been unable to later recall giving the interview, suggesting that he had been put through a "propaganda exercise" while in an unstable state.

Gunaratne of aiding the local Sinhalese community in land disputes and of threatening them the day before the massacre for seeking his transfer.