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| A suspect monk covering himself with Buddha robe! |
Under the criminal procedure code of SL , no settlements can be made by
consent between the parties pertaining to unlawful assembly and mob attacks on
civilians causing damage and loss to property . If the loss exceeds Rs. one
lakh from such attacks , there is no law in SL under which a settlement between
the parties can be arrived at.
Yet , the Gangodawila Magistrate performed
a miracle in relation to the mob attack comprising the Bodhu Bala Sena (BBS) and
their goons who were taken into custody following the organized attack on the
Pepiliyana Fashion Bug establishment on the 25th Thursday
, causing grievous hurt to its Manager (still hospitalized) , a media personnel,
the police and in addition causing damage to the establishment entailing losses
to the tune of many lakhs , when he released the suspects- three Sangha
hoodlums and 14 civilians on the ground that both parties
to the dispute have come to a settlement .
Mind you this historic , illegal and most reprehensible decision had
been taken based on the pressures directly exerted by the President of the
country , Mahinda Rajapakse ,of all people! Towards this decision taking , war
crime suspect Gotabaya Rajapakse ,
The story reported to Lanka e
news thus far …..
PC Faizer Mustafa who went and met the Fashion Bug owner the day
following the attack , had in the midst of the discussion told , he wished to
phone the President , the highest in the hierarchy of the marauding regime. He
had used his mobile phone and spoken in a manner so that those around could
hear. MaRa the despot who was at the other end had then spoken to the Fashion
Bug owner on the mobile phone. After speaking softly first , he has threatened
the owner, ‘ there are shops of yours around the whole country , aren’t there? You
want to continue with your business ? then don’t allow this issue to snowball ,
resolve it calmly.’ MaRa has then also threatened them not to produce the CCTV
camera footage of the incident. As this mobile phone sound was kept at the
maximum , those around also could hear the discussions and unlawful threats
posed by a lawfully elected President of the country.
From the very inception , when the BBS was trying to falsely claim that
this hooliganism was not committed by them , and that they have evidence to
substantiate it , the despotic MR and the war crime suspect Gota took
initiatives to suppress this incident. With this in view , despite there being
ample evidence to incriminate the culprits , by bringing in the notorious DIG
Anura Senanayake from outside , and with a team of police officers the
investigations were rigged to suit their own dastardly ends. The 17 so called suspects were not those apprehended by the
police , rather they were those produced by the BBS according to their whims on
instructions from Gota in order to camouflage the entire criminal scenario.
Though the majority of the victims of the assault who sustained serious
injuries were Sinhalese , and they flocked to the courts to express their
disapproval against an amicable settlement ,but because of the threats and
intimidations posed by the CID groups and the White van government criminals
who congregated at the court premises warning the victims against opening their
mouths in court , they remained silent . In some instances even their homes had
been visited and they had been warned that if they do not consent to a
settlement , they would have to face serious problems in the future, according
to reports.
The Rajapakses deprived the victims of solace from courts as well as the
Muslim leaders by force and coercion . Are the owners of Fashion Bug going to
yield to the pressures of the Rajapakses and consent to the settlement , or is
the Fashion Bug that suffered from this wanton attack going to wait until all
its other business centers are also devastated ? The owners of the
establishment finally agreed for a settlement.
When this case was taken up for
trial this morning , the Gangodawila chief Magistrate Ajith M Masanga said , this
is a not a case where a settlement between the parties can be allowed legally, and
put it off until afternoon. But , due to pressures brought to bear on him later
by the SL Chief thief justice Mohan Peiris , the magistrate court was overturned
into a Kangaroo court of MaRa . The chief Magistrate acting under the illegal
pressures, without waiting until afternoon called up the case again within an
hour , and released the 17 suspects
on illegal grounds. The 17 suspects
released were :
- Koralawela PuranaRajamaha vihara Dampahala Rahula thero
- Galkissa Thelawala Sri Wijaya Dharma center Dumpahala Gnanarathne thero
- Koralawala Purana Rajamaha vihara Anuradhapura Palitha
- Pepilyana T H M Premakumara thero
- Pepiliyana Sajith Lakmal ( owner of SUN communication )
- Divulapitiya P K Chandrasiri
- Prabath Jayashantha
- Divulapitiya E T Champika
- Kohuwala Lalith Dharmapriya
- Boralesgamuwa Ranil Fernando ( three wheel driver)
- Prasanna Wimal De Silva ( Temple underling)
- Menaka Priyadharshana
- Pradeep Suranga
- Indika Dharmapriya
- Chamila Harshan and
-
- Gayan (16 year old student)
No matter what , the Gangodawila
Magistrate who gave this illegal verdict forgetting the law however did not
forget the Bana preaching . He preached to the Sangha members and the hoodlums
that he being a Buddhist must advise them , based on Buddhist tenets , that
without creating social conflicts , they must unite and teach what is good and
how to eschew evil to the people. He also emphasized that the followers of Lard
Buddha should follow in his footsteps. Perhaps, this is the first time a layman
had to preach Buddhism to monks.
While the victims are still in hospitals taking treatment and legally an
amicable settlement cannot be arrived at for such an offence under the law, and
this is a case that has to be heard by the High court and not the Magistrate
court, yet by intervention of the Country’s President directly threatening the
complainants ; AG exerting pressures on the judge ; and the verdict being
changed flagrantly , blatantly and brazenly unlawfully , only go to illustrate
sadly, it is not justice that is being dispensed in this country , but it is
its travesty by the grouping together of all those who should be exalting and
ensuring the implementation of laws duly.