Monks stage protest

Monks attached to the Sihala Ravaya organisation protested yesterday over the transfer of the body of the monk who set himself on fire in Kandy.

The body, which was at a funeral parlour in Borella, was transferred to Ratnapura for final rites.

The monks protested in Borella and then threatened to set themselves on fire outside the official residence of Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

They then proceeded towards Temple Trees forcing the police to close the road between Galle Face and the Colpetty junction.

Bohowatte Indararatna Thero, a member of Sihala Ravaya, succumbed to his injuries in hospital yesterday after he set himself on fire outside the Kandy Dalada Maligawa Temple on Friday demanding a ban on cattle slaughter.

He was receiving treatment at the Colombo national hospital when he succumbed to his injuries. (Colombo Gazette)