A lone police constable was seen busily assaulting a large group of north eastern pilgrims who entered the “Menik Ganga” to bathe after the religious “Diya Kepeema” took place at the end of the Kataragama Esala Perahera on Monday.

Picture by K D Devapriya (Kataragama Correspondent)

PC assaults pada yatra devotees
By K.D.Devapriya.

A large group of people were shocked when a police constable assaulted people with a wooden pole when they went into the Menik Ganga to drink water and fill their vessels immediately after the water cutting ceremony on Monday.
About 10 people were subjected to this assault and some who were hit fell into the water.
A majority of those who were beaten are devotees who came from North East through Yala forest in a Pada Yatra.
It is customary for devotees to drink and carry water home after the water cutting ceremony. They treat it as holy water.
After it was announced that the water cutting was done on the upper portion of the Menik ganga by beating drums, devotees who were about a kilo metre downstream started getting into the ganga chanting ‘Haro Hara’. At that moment the police constable started his assault.
Kataragama police say that the PC involved is an officer who had come from the out station on special duty.
Ven. Kapugama Saranatissa Nayake Thero, Adhikarana Sanghanayaka of Ruhuna Magampattuwa said that he was a witness to the assault and all the good work done by the police during the season was spoilt by the act of this person.
Basnayake Nilame of the Kataragama Devalaya Shashindra Rajapakse said he would report this PC to higher officials. .He said that this type of behaviour create unnecessary questions and in fact he had asked the police not to harass the devotees during the season. He said that even President Mahinda Rajapakse had cautioned the police in this regard.
The day the assault took place no VIP had visited Kataragama.