Report on the investigation relating to 250 school children in Gannoruwa, Kandy who were engaged in a wedding ceremony, has been submitted to the Attorney General.
A complaint has been lodged with the National Child Protection Authority that 250 school children had been used in a wedding ceremony in Gannoruwa, Kandy and subjected to ill-treatment.
Accordingly, the National Child Protection Authority has commenced an investigation and its report has now been sent to the Attorney General’s Department for advice from the Attorney General.
The NCPA has requested the Attorney General’s advice to take legal action against the responsible parties under the Penal Code (Amendment) Act (No. 22 of 1995) clause 308.
Based on instructions from the Attorney General, the future affairs will be decided.
The female school children were used on a school day to hold the saree fall of the bride who had decided to set a Guinness record of the longest saree fall.
It has been reported that the 250 children were made to walk holding the 3.2 kilometer fall under great discomfort.
The ceremony was held under the patronage of Central Province Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayake. Many organizations including the Ceylon Teachers’ Union have expressed their strong opposition to the incident.
The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) said it does not approve using children in a stressful manner for any purpose and requests the public to report such incidents to the Authority on the hotline 1929.
