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Conspiracy to provoke Buddhists? Dilith also accused

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Police have launched a special investigation to find out whether there is a planned conspiracy to provoke Buddhists by insulting the Buddha, the “Aruna” newspaper reported.

The newspaper said that this investigation has been initiated following the alleged insulting statement made by Pastor Jerome Fernando and Natasha Edrisooriya.

Government sources said that the government led by President Ranil Wickremesinghe is paying special attention to this matter and that a special discussion will be held in this regard under the chairmanship of the President today (29).

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chandana Wickramaratne has instructed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to carry out an impartial investigation regarding the two incidents related to the statements made by Fernando and Edirisooriya.

There was great uproar among the Buddhists following the statement made by Pastor Fernando who has fled the country since.

When the CID was investigating this incident, a standup comedian by the name Natasha Edirisooriya, who hosted a comedy programme called ‘Modabhimanaya’ at a popular school in Colombo, had made several statements allegedly insulting the Buddha.

The woman in question was arrested by the CID on Saturday night at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake when she was about to travel to Singapore.

Edirisooriya, who is under the CID custody, was ordered to be remanded until June 7 after being produced in the Fort Magistrate’s Court yesterday (28).

However, she has told the CID that her statement was not a deliberate one. She has also apologized if her remarks had offended any Buddhist.

Dilith also accused

Meanwhile, people have expressed their opinions on social media platforms saying that an independent investigation should be launched into Derana TV and Aruna Newspapers Chairman Dilith Jayaweera and Samantabhadra Thera as well for making similar statements some time ago.

However, opposing views have been raised whether this is a plot to arrest Jayaweera since he has expressed willingness to contest the upcoming presidential election.

Facebook posts posted against Mr. Jayaweera.

Meanwhile, Derana TV presenter Sankha Amarjit Perera has also been blamed for criticizing Natasha by highlighting her arrest without saying a word about Derana Chairman who had allegedly made similar statements insulting Buddhism.

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Forests on state lands to be designated as reserves

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The Ministry of Environment has decided to designate several forests located on state owned lands as official forest reserves.

Deputy Minister – Anton Jayakody has stated that such forests, each spanning 05 hectares or more, have been identified in every district.

Special priority will be given to designating forest reserves on mountain peaks.

In the first phase, 20 forests in districts including Monaragala and Ampara have been selected under the new program named ‘Vanaspathi’,  he said.

He further said the initiative aims to protect these forest areas and expand the country’s forest cover.

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No cases filed against 22 banned pyramid schemes – CBSL

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Although the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has banned 22 institutions operating illegal pyramid schemes, no legal action has been taken against any of them so far, according to reports.

This was disclosed during a workshop held at the CBSL yesterday (July 08) on the dangers of pyramid schemes.

According to CBSL officials, after initial investigations, the files were handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further inquiry.

The CID’s Financial Crimes Unit has reportedly completed its investigations and submitted findings to the Attorney General’s Department, which is responsible for filing cases.

However, it was noted that not a single case has been filed to date.

The CBSL states that investigations will be continued against companies engaged in these illegal practices and hopes at least one or two such cases would be filed by the end of this year or early next year (2026).

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NPP’s Nishantha Jayaweera sworn in as MP

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U. D. Nishantha Jayaweera was sworn in as a National People’s Power (NPP) National List Member of Parliament before the Speaker of the House – Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, today (July 09).

He fills the Parliamentary seat left vacant following the resignation of Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma last month.

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