Police investigating an alleged conspiracy to overthrow the government on the day of the recently concluded presidential polls say that one of the Buddhist monks arrested in connection with the investigation was released after he had cooperated with investigators.

A senior official handling the probe told The Island that the Criminal Investigation Department had produced Ven. Uva Mawegama Sumedha thera before Colombo Additional Magistrate Lal Ranasinghe Bandara, who released him without charges on Tuesday.

He said that a section of the press had mistakenly identified the released monk as the chief incumbent of the Bodhirajaramaya temple in the Maligawatte police area, now being held under emergency regulations. Responding to our queries, he said that investigators were trying to establish a direct links between the chief incumbent and the alleged conspiracy to cause mayhem in the city and its suburbs.

A section of the press, including websites, reported the surprising release of the monk arrested for possessing grenades and weapons.

The elite Special Task Force (STF) raided the temple a few days before the January 26 poll following a tip off. The search party recovered two T 56 assault rifles and several dozens of hand grenades allegedly bought from some persons, who may have access to arms and ammunition. Sources said that the police were also investigating the possibility of at least a section of the management of the five star Cinnamon Lakeside hotel being aware of the conspiracy.

The Army surrounded the hotel shortly after Opposition leaders and their security contingents moved in. Government spokesmen have alleged that the Opposition planned to mount a take-over bid from the hotel, a charge vehemently denied by the political parties, which supported General (retd) Sarath Fonseka’s candidature.

Meanwhile, Tourism Ministry spokesman Prasanna Adikari told The Island yesterday that Achchala Jagoda had called a meeting with the management of the hotel to discuss the incident. He said that the minister had expressed serious concern over the failure on the part of the management to alert the government regarding the move. The minister said that had there been a confrontation at the hotel, Sri Lanka’s efforts to revive the tourism industry would have suffered a setback.

The hotel management had said they received the payment for 70 rooms in cash. According to Adikari, the hotel had suspended several employees pending an internal inquiry.