Court issues nature conservation punishment for students who set fire to forest

The Bandarawela Magistrate’s Court has issued an unusual punishment to the 16 school students who were arrested on charges of causing damage by setting fire to a forest area in Ella.

The court initially ordered the suspects to be released on sureties of Rs. 100,000 each.

It had thereafter instructed the students to plant 10 saplings each in areas selected by the Ella Police on Sunday, the 2nd of October.

The 16 students were apprehended by area residents and handed over to the Police after they had set fire to a portion of a forest reserve in Ella on Saturday (24).

The suspects aged 16 are residents of Badulla and Passara. The group had celebrated a birthday party at the forest reserve and had thereafter set fire to the area.