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Protest outside Maharagama clothes store
View(s):Tension mounted in the Maharagama town last evening when a group of protesters called for the closure of a popular clothes store in the area.
Ven. Amatha Damma Thera, a spokesman for the Budhu Hiru organisation, said he took part in the protest because two Buddhist monks had been summoned to the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) following a complaint made by the shop’s management.
Heavy police presence outside the clothes store. Pic by Indika Handuwala
The shop management had lodged a complaint with the CCD after a group calling itself Budhu Hiru distributed leaflets inciting racial hatred and urging the people to boycott the store.
The shop management said that as a result of the hate campaign, they had suffered financial loss amounting to more than Rs. 5 million.
Maharagama police said they deployed more than 100 policemen to prevent any untoward incident. The protesters, numbering more than 500 people, dispersed after a member of the management apologised for making a complaint to the CCD.
Police Spokesman Prashantha Jayakody said no group had the right to call for the removal of any shop or establishment.
Meanwhile Bodu Bala Sena in a statement said it was not involved in yesterday’s protest.
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