Four Sinhala Buddhist monks, including Balangoda Kassapa, along with five other individuals, have been remanded until 19 January by the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court over the unlawful placement of a Buddha statue in Trincomalee last year.
The remand order follows allegations that coastal conservation laws were violated when the statue was erected on 16 November 2025 without the required legal approvals. The case stems from a complaint lodged by the Coast Conservation Department, which stated that the construction was unauthorised and contravened regulations governing protected coastal zones.
Authorities attempted to remove the statue soon after it was installed. However, those efforts were met with resistance from the Buddhist clergy. Police officers who arrived to enforce the removal reportedly faced obstruction, and one officer was slapped by a monk, as Sinhala opposition mounted against the intervention.
All individuals connected to the incident were subsequently produced before the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court, which ordered that they be held in remand custody until 19 January while investigations continue.
The case unfolds against the backdrop of wider controversy in the North-East, where the unauthorised erection of Buddhist shrines has repeatedly raised alarm among Tamils. In November, the placement of the statue on Dutch Bay beachfront triggered significant political fallout, exposing once again how coastal protection laws and planning regulations are unevenly enforced when Sinhala Buddhist institutions are involved.
That episode saw officials from the Coast Conservation Department initially intervene, only for enforcement efforts to be reversed amid pressure from Buddhist groups and political actors. Despite the land being subject to coastal protection rules and existing court orders restricting development, the statue was ultimately reinstalled with police protection, reinforcing Tamil concerns that the rule of law is routinely subordinated to Sinhala Buddhist nationalist demands.
