Trinco Buddha statue incident- Ven. Balangoda Kassapa Thero and others brought to court

Ten individuals, including Venerable Balangoda Kassapa Thero and several other monks, have appeared in court related to the incident involving a Buddha statue in Trincomalee. On January 19, the Trincomalee Magistrate ruled that these ten suspects, including Venerable Balangoda Kassapa Thero, would remain in custody until today, January 28. This decision came after the Attorney General and the Trincomalee Harbour Police declined to drop the charges against the suspects, which are based on the Coast Conservation Act. The case arose after the Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resources Management reported that an unauthorized structure had been built in a protected coastal area of Trincomalee town, where the Buddha statue was located. The court reconvened on January 14, and out of the eleven people listed in the case, nine attended the hearing. The Trincomalee Police have accused the suspects of violating the Coast Conservation Act and carrying out unauthorized constructions. After considering the arguments presented, the Magistrate decided that the suspects would continue to be held in remand until today. While in custody, Venerable Balangoda Kassapa Thero began a hunger strike but later paused it. Due to legal restrictions, the Ada Derana Editorial team has chosen to disable comments on all articles related to ongoing court cases. Copyright ©2026 Ada Derana. All rights reserved.