The Kuliyapitiya Magistrate’s Court ordered the remand of the Excise Department officer until April 22, for singing and releasing on social media, a distorted version of a popular traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year song ‘Sooriya Mangalle’ by veteran singer Rohana Beddage.
The 31-year-old suspect who is a resident of Thalathuoya area in Wariyapola and an excise officer at a distillery in the Dummalasuriya area, was arrested on Tuesday in connection with singing and sharing a distorted version of the famous song sung by veteran artiste Rohana Beddage which was aired during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year season across the country every year, by the Computer Crime Investigation Division (CCID) of the CID in Wariyapola.
The arrest was made in relation to a complaint made to the Inspector General (IGP) by MP Dr. Channa Jayasumana. Singer Rohana Beddage has also requested the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to conduct an investigation over the incident on Monday evening.Cultural Affairs Minister Vidura Wickremanayake has also directed the CID to arrest the suspect for distorting a popular Avurudu song and sharing it on social media.
The CID team who identified the suspect who has shared the distorted version of the song and checked his mobile phone after locating him, found a link of the distorted version of the song that had been shared by him to the social media which included footage of visuals recorded on Dalada Street in Kandy, at which point the arrest was made.
The arrested suspect was handed over to the Wariyapola Police by the CCID team and was produced before the Kuliyapitiya Magistrate’s Court yesterday, where the order was given by the Magistrate to remand the suspect until April 22. Further investigations are being carried out by the North Western Province Unit of the CCID regarding the incident.
Varuna Dayaratne