MP Patali Champika Ranawaka said plans were underway to link opposition political activists to the sexual exploitation case of a 15-year-old girl.

Ranawaka said slanderous online campaigns have been launched by parties affiliated with the government linking several opposition activists to the ongoing investigation.

"Some reports stated that I had influenced law enforcement authorities to save my supporters from the investigations," the former Minister said.

He said the slanderous reports could be a method adopted by the government to build up pressure from the opposition calling for stringent regulations on social media.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Minister Karunaratne Paranawithana, a close associate of Ranawaka, said certain misleading reports had mentioned his name as one of the culprits who sexually exploited the 15-year-old girl.