An arrest warrant has been issued for Kassapa Thero, who failed to appear in court today (11) regarding the Trincomalee incident.

The Trincomalee Magistrate's Court today (11) issued a warrant for the arrest and production of Balangoda Kassapa Thero, who failed to appear before the court for the trial related to the controversial incident of placing a Buddha statue on the Trincomalee beach without legal permission.

Trincomalee Magistrate M.S.M. Samsudeen issued this order when the relevant case was called today, due to Kassapa Thero, named as the second suspect in the case, evading court. The police have named 14 suspects in connection with this incident, and the Magistrate also ordered nine of them to report to the Trincomalee Port Police Station tomorrow (12) to give statements. The further hearing of the case was adjourned until January 06.

The origin of this legal crisis dates back to November 2025. A construction project underway near the Sri Sambuddhatva Jayanthi Bodhiraja Viharaya, located near the beach in the Fort area of Trincomalee on November 16, was at the root of this. The Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management alleged that these constructions were being carried out within the coastal conservation zone without any permission. Authorities had focused on a restaurant and other constructions built at the site, and a tense situation arose when attempts were made to remove these unauthorized constructions.

The temple side emphasized that the land in question had been allocated to the temple, and that a Dharma Hall or a Dhamma school building was being constructed there. However, the Department's stance was that this was being done in violation of coastal conservation laws and permit conditions. Amidst this dispute, Balangoda Kassapa Thero and others arrived at the site and engaged in a protest against the authorities. The controversial Buddha statue was placed on that beach during this tense situation between the police and the protesters.

Subsequently, based on a complaint made by the Coast Conservation Department, the police initiated investigations, and legal action was taken against the suspects on charges of unauthorized construction and violation of the Coast Conservation Act.

Accordingly, when this case was called before the Trincomalee Magistrate's Court on January 14, 2026, the court ordered the remand of Balangoda Kassapa Thero, four other Buddhist monks, and five other individuals. The High Court decided to grant bail to these ten suspects, who had been in remand for nearly a month, on February 11, 2026. With one of the main suspects, who had been released on a cash bail of Rs. 10,000 and two personal bails of Rs. one million each, evading court today, this case has once again taken a critical turn.