A Sri Lankan magistrate has ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to immediately inform two directors of the State Intelligence Service about social media information warning of possible attacks on major Buddhist religious sites on 19 November, after investigators failed to establish in court whether senior officials had been properly notified.
Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama of Colombo issued the order after CID officers appeared in court in connection with an investigation into online threats targeting the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, the Thuparamaya stupa and the Sri Maha Bodhi, among other prominent Buddhist sites.
The CID’s Computer Crime Investigation Unit had identified the information ten days earlier, but the court was not provided with confirmation that senior officials had been formally informed. The magistrate directed investigators to notify the intelligence authorities in writing without delay and submit a report to the court detailing the action taken.
The magistrate said information suggesting that the country’s principal Buddhist religious sites could be targeted in an attack could not be treated lightly. He also noted that Sri Lanka had experienced serious consequences when information of this nature had not been acted upon appropriately.
The order was issued when a second suspect, a minor accused of supporting an earlier suspect through social media posts and the circulation of altered images, was presented before the court on 12 November.
The investigation began following a complaint by the chief incumbent of Dambulla Rajamaha Viharaya, Venerable Dr Dhatusenagama Ananda. According to the CID, social media posts and images circulated in a WhatsApp group contained threats against several sacred Buddhist sites and statements suggesting that Buddhism should be eradicated from the world.
Police told the court that the material included references to attacks on the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, the Thuparamaya and the Sri Maha Bodhi. Investigators said the posts and altered images would be submitted as evidence.
A 21-year-old man from Ibbagamuwa was arrested on 1 November in connection with the alleged circulation of hateful statements threatening attacks on Dambulla Rajamaha Viharaya and other sacred sites, as well as the distribution of distorted images of the Buddha through WhatsApp groups. He was remanded in custody.
The second suspect, a minor, was arrested over alleged social media posts supporting the first suspect and the sharing of altered images. After considering a police request concerning the minor’s placement under probationary supervision, the magistrate ordered that he remain in probationary care until 16 November and directed that a report be submitted on that date.
In a separate case, police in Kobeigane arrested a 21-year-old university student on suspicion of publishing hateful statements on Facebook criticising Sri Lanka’s president, prime minister and current government. The student, a resident of the Kobeigane area who was studying at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ruhuna, was taken into custody over a post circulated on social media.
The arrest followed a public meeting chaired by the president at the Nikaweratiya weekly market grounds on 11 October. Police alleged that the student had published the Facebook post targeting the event. The source did not provide further details about the specific wording of the post or any court proceedings in that case.
