• They said he was not making statements to media to  damage Buddhism in its pristine form

By T. Farook Thajudeen  

Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis yesterday further remanded till January 17, the social media activist Sepal Amarasinghe on charges of insulting the Temple of the Tooth Relic in a way to hurt the feelings of the Buddhists and for attempting to create hatred among different religious groups.  Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Pieris appearing with the CID sleuths on behalf of the prosecution, submitted that there has been disappointment and despondency among the Buddhists against the suspect for insulting the Temple of  the Tooth Relic which is the pinnacle of local Buddhists.  

Counsel Pieris also emphasized that the suspect had violated the Provisions of the International Covenant of Human Rights, the Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Penal Code and the Archaeological Act by making statements on social media and by saying that “There is nothing you can do with that tooth of yours.” 

DSG Pieris said that it had caused a great public uproar and pain among the Buddhist Community nationally and internationally and pleaded to remand the suspect as the investigations are going on. Attorneys-at- Law Namal Rajapaksa, Manjula Pathiraja, Lalith Pathirana and Bandara Ekanayake appearing for the suspect told the Magistrate that the suspect was spreading popular Buddhism and was not making statements to media to damage Buddhism in its pristine form.