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Dammaloka Thera denies connection with capture, sale of elephants
Ven. Uduwe Dammaloka Thera who was indicted in the High Court of Colombo for keeping an elephant in his custody without a licence, giving evidence, stated he had no connection with the capture or sale of elephants.
In his statement before High Court Judge Sampath Wijerathna, he said he did not ever want to own either an elephant or a temple. The only thing he did was to provide food to an elephant. “My conscience is clear. As I was kept in custody, I was unable to carry out the duties I owed to society,” the Thera said.
Senior State Counsel Janaka Bandara appearing for the Attorney General led the evidence of 13 witnesses including State Minister of Foreign Affairs Wasantha Senanayaka.
The Thera further said that, he is an animal lover, and that elephants brought for peraheras of various temples in Colombo, were kept at his temple. He also denied allegations made by State Minister Senanayaka that he was engaged in business activities. He said he only needed dhana [food] and gilanpasa [drinks] for his existence. He concluded his statement by stating that every creature should not have anger or enmity against others.
At the conclusion of the Thera’s testimony, Judge Wijerathna ordered the parties to tender their submissions on September 26.
State Counsel Ms Chathurangi Mahawaduge with SSC Janaka Bandara appeared for the Prosecution, while Prasantha Lal de Alwis PC with Attorney-at-Law Ishan Jayarathna appeared for the Accused.