Dhammika Bandara, who recently discovered the co-called local cure for the coronavirus, is not a traditional healer but a kapurala, says Ven. Devalehinda Ajitha Thero.

After giving the so-called syrup to all kinds of hooligans, moonshiners and criminals in the country, it was finally taken to the Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura, the most sacred religious site for Buddhists in Sri Lank, the Thera said.

Such a person should have been slapped and chased away, the Buddhist monk asserted.

He said it was a mental illness to pretend to perform miracles with the help of divine powers. "Our society is so delusional that people place their trust in such nonsense," Ajitha Thera added.

He said that the people were hoodwinked to the degree that they had to go behind such fraudsters for help in the age of advanced technology and human development. "This kind of practices are a blatant violation of the teachings of Buddhism," he further added.

Ven. Ajith Thera said that everyone who promoted this individual, including government members, media institutions and the Maha Sangha should be ashamed of themselves.