Police deny assault allegations as Balangoda Kassapa Thero leaves hospital

Ven. Balangoda Kassapa Thera was taken to Colombo National Hospital after an incident at a satyagraha protest in Viharamahadevi Park, Colombo, on Saturday, October 17. The demonstration, which began that night near a Buddha statue in the Cinnamon Gardens police area, is calling for the release of Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera, who is serving a prison sentence.

Police said officers had approached the gathering to explain that using a loudspeaker to address the crowd and putting up a temporary shelter were not lawful. According to the police account, Kassapa Thera slipped from a concrete step while monks were gathered at the site. Police denied that officers had struck him and said he received hospital treatment before leaving. A deputy director of the hospital’s accident and emergency unit told Lankadeepa that Kassapa Thera chose to discharge himself.

Claims circulating on social media that police assaulted the monk were described as false in the police statement, as reported by Rupavahini News. Police urged the public to treat such videos cautiously and said Cinnamon Gardens police were conducting further inquiries. The statement also warned that legal action could be taken over publications likely to provoke public unrest.

Kassapa Thera returned to the protest on Sunday, October 18, according to Newswire. He said the protesters’ main aim was Gnanasara Thera’s unconditional release and argued that the responsibility for granting a pardon rests with the president. He also said the government had misunderstood the protest as an effort to remove it from office.

Newswire reported that Kassapa Thera warned protesters might consider electing a new president if the current president refused a pardon and they could find no other legal route to secure the monk’s release. He said he returned despite pain to support the protest, and that he had declined comforts offered by fellow monks while Gnanasara Thera remained in prison. The demonstration had previously taken place near the Presidential Secretariat, before continuing at Viharamahadevi Park.

Written automatically by AI from the outlets’ own reports, and not reviewed by an editor. It can be wrong — the original report is the authority.