Beruwala clash: Buhary Mosque Sheikh not implicated, says AG
The Attorney General’s Department has submitted a report to the Kalutara Chief Magistrate’s Court stating that the Sheikh of the Buhary Mosque had no involvement in the sectarian violence that occurred in Beruwala in July this year.
The report was submitted when the case was taken up on Thursday at the Kalutara Magistrate’s Court.
The AG’s Department report came to this conclusion after perusing over 200 statements from witnesses from the Buhary Mosque and the Thowheed Masjidur Rahman mosque and reports on investigations conducted by the Alutgama, Beruwala, Kalutara and Mt. Lavinia police stations.
The report had stated that there was no connection between the Sheikh and the incident which led to the sectarian violence in Beruwala.
The incident took place on the night of July 25 when the Masjidur Rahman mosque which belongs to the Thowheed sect made critical remarks of the Buhary Mosque via loudhailers.
The Thowheed mosque in its sermon had stated that the followers of the Buhary Mosque were infidels. This angered the Muslims in the area who were participating in the annual Buhary Mosque feast at the time. The incident resulted in a bloody clash which left two people dead, 40 injured and the Masjidur Rahman Mosque set on fire.
The magistrate ordered both parties to give their written submissions at the next hearing date. The 135 suspects who were arrested in connection with the incident were further remanded till November 16.
Sunday Times
1-November-2009
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