Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galaboda Atte Gnanasara Thera and seven others today pleaded guilty to charges in connection with a case filed before Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court for trespassing into the Nippon Hotel in Colombo and obstructing a media conference organised by Jathika Bala Sena (JBS) leader Watareka Vijitha Thera in 2014.
Gnanasara Thera and others were ordered to pay a compensation of Rs. 300,000 to the complainant party, and they were subsequently severely warned by Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage not to repeat such offences. Meanwhile, the parties expressed their willingness to settle one charge filed against the accused.
In his complaint to the police, Ven. Vijitha Thera, a former Mahiyanganaya Pradeshiya Sabha member, alleged that Buddhist monks belonging to the BBS, including its general secretary, Gnanasara Thera, had stormed the media conference, threatened him, and disrupted their press conference.
In this case, Ven. Galaboda Atte Gnanasara Thera, Ven.Vitarandeniye Nanda Thera, Ven. Welimada Chandra Ratne Thera, Ven. Wellampitiye Sumana Damma Thera, Ven. Ariyawansa Sambudda Thera, Ven. Chardrananda Thera, P. Wewala, and Pathiranage Gunawardena were named as the suspects in connection with disrupting the Jathika Bala Sena (JBS) press conference on April 9, 2014.
