Four members of the Buddhist clergy, including Venerable Balangoda Kassapa Thera, and five others were on Monday further remanded until January 28 by the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court in connection with the Buddha statue incident at the Trincomalee Bodhiraja Temple.
The suspects were produced before court over allegations related to the unauthorized placement of a Buddha statue within a coastal zone in Trincomalee, in violation of coastal conservation laws.
The case stems from an incident on November 16 last year, when unrest broke out following attempts by authorities to remove the statue. The Coast Conservation Department had lodged a complaint with police, stating that the construction had not received the required approval. (Newswire)