Wasantha Senayake to give evidence in Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera trial

By T. Farook Thajudeen

The Colombo High Court yesterday re-fixed for 11 November the case against Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera over his alleged possession of a baby elephant without a valid license.

When the case came up before High Court Judge Sampath Wijeratne, the first witness, State Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management Wasantha Senanayake, was not present in court to give evidence as he had to attend an official function.Consequently, the hearing was postponed to 30 November. The Attorney General (AG) had indicted Dhammaloka Thera on two counts for possessing a baby elephant without a valid license under Section 22 (12) of the Fauna and Flora Protection (Amendment) Act, No. 22 of 2009 and Section 5(3) (a) of the Public Property Act.

The Attorney General had listed 19 witnesses to give evidence for the prosecution.

The Wildlife Department officials took into their custody a two-and-half-year-old baby elephant at Alan Mathiniyaramaya Temple in Polhengoda Kirulapone on 28 January 2015.

Senior State Counsel Janaka Bandara is appearing for the prosecution while President’s Counsel

Prasantha Lal de Alwis is appearing for the defence.