N’Eliya MC top officials in hot water By Premalal Wijeratne and  Binoy Suriyaarachchi- Saturday, 17 Aug 2013 The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor of the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council are in hot water, the former for accepting bribes while the latter is accused of abusing five underage children. Deputy Mayor, Tissa Seneviratne, accused of child abuse, is on the run and the police have launched a hunt, police said. The Deputy Mayor earlier lodged a complaint with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) against Mayor Mahinda Dodampegama, over misuse of funds related to the Nuwara Eliya Wasantha Samaya festival, held in April. The Deputy Mayor later made a complaint with the police that he had received death threats after he lodged the complaint against the Mayor and that he had been threatened with death by the secretary of the Mayor, if he failed to withdraw the complaint. Meanwhile, the police said a unit attached to the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) has launched an investigation into the complaint lodged against the Deputy Mayor, who is currently evading police.  The NCPA yesterday dispatched a police team to Nuwara Eliya, after receiving a complaint on its hotline. Statements were obtained by the children, who had allegedly been subjected to abuse by the Deputy Mayor. The Deputy Mayor is accused of abusing five children during the past two years. The children were produced for a medical examination by the Judiciary Medical Officer of Nuwara Eliya. However, since the doctor was absent, the children were ordered to be reproduced for the medical examination on Sunday. When contacted, Chairperson of the NCPA, Anoma Dissanayake said, the NCPA has launched an investigation after it received a complaint. A team of police officers attached to the NCPA, led by IP B.W. Bopitiya, under the supervision of Superintendent of Police, Jayantha Wickremesinghe, are conducting further investigations. New law to prohibit publications defamatory of the major religions FRIDAY, 16 AUGUST 2013  The Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs Ministry is to introduce a new law seeking action against publications, either in print or online, that defames the original teachings and traditions of the major religions, officials said yesterday.     As a first step in this effort, the Ministry has drafted a bill that provides for the establishment of a Buddhist Publications Regulatory Board with authority to regulate any publication that is in violation of Buddhism, its philosophy or traditions. The Board, if established under the proposed bill, will have two ex-officio members -- the Ministry’s secretary and the Commissioner General of Buddha Sasana. Besides these, there will be other members: one member will be nominated by each of the Mahanayakes of the four chapters (Malwatta, Asgiri, Amarapura and Ramagna), each of the heads of the departments of Pali and Buddhist Studies of four major universities will also nominate one member, and the subject minister will nominate another two.   Ministry secretary M.K.B. Dissanayake said that this bill was now with the Attorney General pending approval. “After approval by him it will be sent to the Cabinet of Ministers for approval,” he said. Mr. Dissanayake said the Board would have the authority to specify standards, norms and criteria that should be adhered to in written and oral Buddhist publications. It would also have the power to examine any Buddhist text to see whether it conforms to the Buddhist teachings and traditions practiced in Sri Lanka. Once the new bill is enacted to deal with publications regarding Buddhism, another law is to be introduced to deal with publications that are contrary to the original teachings of other religions. (Kelum Bandara)