LEN - www.lankaenews.com | Gnanasara behind bars: the monk who thought a pardon was permanent Court of Appeal orders his six-year term enforced after police found him hiding in a forest hermitage

Gnanasara behind bars: the monk who thought a pardon was permanent Court of Appeal orders his six-year term enforced after police found him hiding in a forest hermitage

By Ruwan Weerakoon

(Lanka-e-News -06 Oct 2026,5.00 A.M.) Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera, general secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), is in Welikada Prison. Today the Court of Appeal ordered that his six-year sentence take effect immediately. This follows a Supreme Court ruling that annulled the presidential pardon granted by former President Maithripala Sirisena.

The order came from a two-judge Bench of Justice Mayadunne Corea and Justice Lakmali Karunanayake. The Attorney General moved it to give effect to the Supreme Court's judgment.

From saffron robe to prison uniform

Prison officials registered the monk at Welikada, took his robe, and issued him a prisoner's uniform, a plate and a cup.
Three warrants, one hiding place

For some time he stayed out of reach. A senior officer of the Colombo Crimes Division says Gnanasara evaded three court-issued warrants before police found him at a forest hermitage in Thiniyawala. Officers say he was in a meditation hut on the grounds, wearing only a loincloth. Investigators say he had also changed the SIM card in his mobile phone.

The tip-off

The breakthrough came from inside the hermitage. A resident monk first told police that Gnanasara had visited and left in another vehicle. Under further questioning, he grew evasive, which raised suspicion. Police then searched the grounds at night, including several meditation huts below the main buildings, and found Gnanasara in one of them.

Officers say he pleaded, "Please, sirs, let me stay here as a meditating monk." They quote him as adding that they would be done a favour in return. The investigating officer told this newspaper that the attempt to hide showed a "fear of imprisonment". He described it as highly unusual for a monk to conceal himself in a sacred place like a fugitive.

Changing cars, dodging cameras

Investigators say Gnanasara switched vehicles several times on the way to the hermitage, which misled CCTV tracking units. The tip-off ended his time in hiding.

The net widens

Police have opened a wide inquiry into those who knowingly sheltered him while he evaded the law. Statements have already been recorded from six people who were staying at the hermitage.

How a courtroom outburst became a six-year term

The sentence stems from a contempt of court case. During the Homagama hearing into the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda, Gnanasara burst into court and abused Judge Ranga Dissanayake. He reportedly shouted that war heroes should not be arrested. Contempt proceedings followed swiftly and ended in a six-year sentence. He had earlier been jailed for making a statement offensive to religion.

The Rajapaksa connection

Gnanasara became the public face of the BBS during the Rajapaksa years. Critics at the time accused the government of tolerating the group's anti-Muslim campaigns. In 2012, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, then Defence Secretary, was chief guest at the opening of the BBS's Buddhist Leadership Academy. In 2021, as President, Gotabaya appointed Gnanasara to head the presidential task force on "One Country, One Law". The remarks that led to his contempt sentence defended "war heroes" in a case about a disappearance from the Rajapaksa era.

Is Suresh Sallay next?

Those who stood behind illegal activity and corruption in the Rajapaksa era have not escaped the law. Some are out on bail, and others are already serving prison terms. Retired Major General Suresh Sallay, who is under CID investigation, may face the same fate. Anyone involved in unlawful acts can also be turned into a Crown witness.