COLOMBO, Jan. 14 -- The Trincomalee Magistrate's Court on Wednesday (14) ordered that four Buddhist monks, including Ven. Balangoda Kassapa Thera, and five other individuals be remanded until January 19, over the unauthorized placement of a Buddha statue at the Trincomalee Bodhiraja Vihara.

The case arises from an incident on November 16, 2025, when a Buddha statue was installed within a designated coastal conservation zone, reportedly without the approval required under the Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Act. The Coast Conservation Department (CCD) had earlier lodged a complaint with police, stating that the construction was illegal.

According to police, a tense situation developed when officers, acting on instructi...