Trincomalee Magistrate M.S.M. Samsudeen issued a warrant on Wednesday (11 November) for the arrest of Ven. Balangoda Kassapa Thera after he failed to appear before the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court in a case concerning the alleged unauthorised installation of a Buddha statue on the Trincomalee coast. The magistrate ordered that the monk be brought before the court.
Ven. Kassapa Thera, the second suspect in the case, was absent when it was called. Police have named 14 suspects in the case. The court directed nine of them to report to the Trincomalee Harbour Police Station on Thursday (12 November) to give statements. The case is due to be called again on 6 January 2027.
The case stems from a dispute on 16 November 2025 over construction near the Sri Sambuddhathwa Jayanthi Bodhiraja Viharaya on the coast in the Trincomalee Fort area. The Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management took action over allegations that construction had been carried out without a permit within the coastal conservation zone. A restaurant and other structures at the site also drew the authorities’ attention, and tensions rose when officials attempted to remove the structures.
Representatives of the temple said the work was for a Dhamma hall or a Dhamma school building on land allocated to the temple. The authorities alleged that the construction breached coastal conservation laws and permit conditions.
Ven. Kassapa Thera and others arrived at the site and staged a protest, during which a Buddha statue was installed. Tensions also rose between police and protesters opposing the authorities’ actions.
Police launched an investigation following a complaint by the Coast Conservation Department. Legal proceedings were initiated against the suspects over alleged violations of the Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Act and unauthorised construction.
When the case was called before the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court on 14 January 2026, the court remanded four monks, including Ven. Kassapa Thera, and five other people. On 11 February 2026, the High Court granted bail to 10 suspects, ordering their release on Rs. 10,000 cash bail and two sureties of Rs. 1 million each.
