A police guard has been posted at the Christian Church which came under attack by an unruly mob on Thursday. However authorities are yet to make any arrests in this connection.
A mob of around 200 persons suspected to be activists of the Hela Urumaya surrounded and stoned the Church on Thursday morning in an apparently angry reaction to the deaths of two women during a spiritual healing service held at the Vihara Maha Devi Park in Colombo last Saturday.
Although no one was hurt in the incident the building was damaged in the attack and the mob was dispersed only after the police intervened.
Teja Gamage, spokesperson for the church told the Sunday Times despite the police guard, groups of persons were still hanging around the area threatening church members and this had forced the church to suspend further services till the situation returned to normal.
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| File photo: Hela Urumaya demonstration at Talangama in Koswatte on Thursday. |
“The intimidation is very serious and the members are jittery fearing for their well being. Groups of persons have also visited the homes of members of the church and warned them against attending any prayer gatherings or meetings”, Mr. Gamage said.
He added the two women who died had come of their own free will. They were very sick patients who had given up hope on medication and opted to seek divine help as a cure for their illness. “Furthermore they died on admission to hospital and not at the healing service as certain media had put it,” he said.
A complaint was made to the Talangama police immediately after the incident, but so far nothing has been done, Mr. Gamage added.
“The mob was well organised and the attack carried out by outsiders. The local Buddhist temple in the area had nothing to do with it. We have remained good neighbours for a considerable period of time”, he said.
The JHU vehemently denied the charges saying certain persons clad in saffron robes had carried out the attack to tarnish the image of the party.
“We had nothing to do with this attack, although we are not in favour of such healing sects,” JHU Parliamentary group leader and MP Ven. Athuraliya Ratana Thera told the House on Friday.
He called for the arrest of Christian pastors engaged in such healing practices and urged that the Anti-Conversion Bill be made law without further delay.
A senior policeman said they were carrying out a full investigation into the matter though an arrest was yet to be made. |
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