Fiery protest by Buddhist monk over cattle slaughter

24 May 2013 06:50 am Views - 20895

A Buddhist monk set himself on fire this morning outside the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy in protest over the slaughter of cattle, police said.

Sources said the monk poured petrol over his body and then lit himself. He was rushed to the Kandy hospital with severe injuries and later transferred to General Hospital, Colombo, the police added.

Preliminary investigations had revealed that the Buddhist monk identified as Ven. Bowatte Indraratana Thera was a former Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) member of the Pelmadulla Pradeshiya Sabha.

He had lost his seat in the PS after he had repeatedly stayed away from council meetings. The PS Chairman said about two weeks ago he received a letter from the JHU saying that the monk had been expelled from the party. (J.A.L Jayasinghe and LB Senaratne)