Buddhist monk critical; Who aided self-immolation?

Buddhist monk critical; Who aided self-immolation?

May 25, 2013   09:55 am

The Buddhist monk who suffered serious injuries after setting himself on fire to protest against the slaughter of cattle has been transferred to the Colombo National Hospital and is reportedly in critical condition.

The Buddhist monk is currently undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a spokesman of the hospital said this morning.

Ven. Bowatte Indrarathana Thera of the Sri Sugatha Purana Vihara in Kandy, had doused himself with a flammable liquid and set himself ablaze near the Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic) yesterday (24).

Policemen and devotees near the temple doused the flames and rushed the monk to the Kandy Hospital. However, he was later transferred to the Colombo National Hospital via helicopter.

Certain media aired videos of the monk issuing certain demands, such as putting an end to the killing of cattle for meat and Buddhist being converted to other religions, before setting himself ablaze. 

Ven. Indrarathana Thera had informed those media of his intentions before committing self-immolation while they had recorded footage of the incident accordingly.

Meanwhile, Kandy Police said they have launched full scale investigation regarding how the Buddhist monk had obtained petrol to immolate himself.


Disclaimer: All the comments will be moderated by the AD editorial. Abstain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or slanderous. Please avoid outside hyperlinks inside the comment and avoid typing all capitalized comments. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by flagging them(mouse over a comment and click the flag icon on the right side). Do use these forums to voice your opinions and create healthy discourse.

Most Viewed Video Stories

Iran pledges fuel, essential goods for Sri Lanka; Strait of Hormuz open to friendly nations: Envoy (English)

Iran pledges fuel, essential goods for Sri Lanka; Strait of Hormuz open to friendly nations: Envoy (English)

Sarvajana Balaya leader urges Govt. to formulate national plan to deal with prevailing crisis (English)

Bus, three-wheeler fares increased;Several other sectors also affected by fuel price hike (English)

🔴LIVE | Ada Derana Midday Prime News Bulletin

Container haulage charges to rise by 20% following fuel price hike (English)

Crude oil shipments not reaching Sri Lanka due to Middle East conflict – Minister Nalinda (English)

Middle East conflict pushes Sri Lanka to increase fuel prices thrice in March (English)

🔴LIVE | Ada Derana Prime Time News Bulletin | 2026-03-22