Consumer Rights activist Asela Sampath has been arrested without warning or explanation by the Criminal Investigation Department, stated members of his family on his official Facebook account today (25). They stated that about 20 people had arrived at the house and had beaten him severely without reason or warning, before dragging him into a van bearing a registration number which included the characters "NE0883" The police on April 13th arrested the consumer rights activist based on an open warrant issued by the Fort Magistrate’s Court in April 2019 in connection with a case filed on the allegation of interrupting duties of the Consumer Affairs Authority officials. However, it has been reported that Sampath at a press conference recently had criticized the Rs. 1000 relief package provided by Sathosa, and Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena had openly stated in Parliament that the activist should be arrested over the comment. According to Police Spokesman SDIG Ajith Rohana, Sampath was taken into custody over a misleading statement he had made on social media platforms. The probes into the matter were initiated following a complaint filed by the General Manager of the National Medicine Regulatory Authority (NMRA) several days ago, the police spokesman added. The CID has gathered more information on the matter by analysing the comments posted by various individuals with regard to the relevant statement. Reportedly, Asela Sampath has alleged that local authorities are involved in adulterating the AstraZeneca vaccines before rolling out the jabs in Sri Lanka.