SL’s fugitive monk surrenders

COLOMBO: A radical Buddhist monk wanted in connection with a string of hate attacks in Sri Lanka surrendered on Wednesday after four weeks on the run, police said.

Galagodaatte Gnanasara gave himself up before a magistrate and was then arrested in connection with arson attacks targeting the island’s minority Muslim community in recent months.

Police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody said he had been released on bail of $8,000 and ordered to refrain from hate speech and inciting violence.

Jayakody said four police teams had been looking for Gnanasara before he turned up in court Wednesday.

Authorities in the Buddhist-majority nation are under international pressure to crack down on a wave of religious violence that has escalated since April, including arson attacks on mosques and Muslim-owned businesses and the desecration of a cemetery.

Gnanasara was not immediately available for comment but his Buddhist Force, or BBS, has denied allegations it was behind the latest unrest.

The original arrest warrant issued for Gnanasara dates back to April 2014, when he was accused of insulting the Holy Qura'an.

Months later, anti-Muslim riots at the tourist resort of Aluthgama left four people dead and hundreds of Muslim homes destroyed.