Ten individuals, including Venerable Balangoda Kassapa Thero, were remanded until the 9th in connection with an incident involving a land in Trincomalee.
This followed the hearing before the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court, where a case had been filed over violations of the Coastal Conservation Act and allegations of unauthorized construction.
On November 16 last year, Venerable Balangoda Kassapa Thero and a group of supporters launched a protest claiming that police had attempted to remove a Buddha statue placed on a land said to belong to the Sri Sambuddhatwa Jayanthi Bodhiraja Viharaya, located along the Trincomalee Kotuwa Road.
However, it was later revealed that a restaurant had been operating on the said land, situated close to the coastline.
Authorities found that the removal of this restaurant by officials of the Coastal Conservation Department had been the primary reason behind the protest.
Following the incident, the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court named 11 suspects in the case, on charges of violating the Coastal Conservation Act and carrying out unauthorized constructions.
Among those remanded today are Venerable Balangoda Kassapa Thero and Venerable Trinkunamalaye Kalyanawanshathissa Thero, the Chief Incumbent of the Sri Sambuddhatwa Jayanthi Bodhiraja Viharaya, along with two other monks.