Sri Lankan court issues arrest warrants against ex-lawmaker and Buddhist monk Rathana

Colombo, Aug 18 (PTI) A Sri Lankan court on Monday issued an arrest warrant against prominent Buddhist monk and former lawmaker Athuraliye Rathana, police said.

The Nugegoda Magistrate's Court issued the arrest warrant against Rathana, who has been evading arrest in connection with an ongoing investigation into the 2020 abduction of a fellow Buddhist monk, according to the police.

Monk Vedinigama Wimalathissa has alleged that Rathana was behind his abduction in 2020. He has claimed that the motive behind his abduction was to force him to sign documents so that Rathana could be appointed to parliament from the Ape Janabala Party for its solitary seat in the aftermath of the 2020 August parliamentary election.

The police said they visited Rathana’s residence in the city earlier this month looking for him. He has since gone missing, they added.

Rathana, a firebrand nationalist monk, was one of the nine monks elected to parliament in the 2004 parliamentary election. He has represented parliament since then until September 2024. PTI CORR ZH ZH