Video of controversial monk assaulting man goes viral

A video has gone viral of a controversial monk assaulting a man who had reportedly claimed he was a Christian missionary.

It was reported that the Venerable Ampitiye Sumanarathana Thero, a monk from Batticaloa, had assaulted the man for promoting Christianity in a predominantly Buddhist area.

The monk is also seen criticizing a Police officer for failing to prevent the missionary from promoting Christianity in the area.

In the video, the man who claims to be a Christian missionary is seen trying to explain his work to the monk when the monk slaps him.

He then goes on a verbal rampage before a policeman is seen taking down details of the incident.

Meanwhile, another video shows the monk stopping a man clad in clothing of a Catholic priest riding a motorcycle without a helmet and verbally abusing him.

It was later revealed that the man was not a Catholic priest.

The monk has been in the spotlight in the past as well where he had threatened Ceylon Electricity Board employees and a state village officer (Grama Sevaka).

The monk had also been accused of attempting to incite hate among communities. (Colombo Gazette)