Writ application filed seeking arrest of Kurunegala Mayor

A writ application has been filed before the Court of Appeal seeking the arrest of Kurunegala Mayor Thushara Sanjeewa over the demolishing of a historic building of archaeological value in Kurunegala.

The appeal was lodged by Namal Karunaratne, parliamentary election candidate of Jathika Jana Balawegaya.

Acting Inspector General of Police C.D. Wickramaratne, Kurunegala Inspector of Police Kapila Adhikari, Director General of the Archaeology Department Prof. Senarath Dissanayake, Mayor of Kurunegala Thushara Sanjeewa, Kurunegala Municipal Council and the Attorney General have been cited as the respondents of this writ application.

The building in question, also known as the Buwaneka Hotel, dates back to the 13th century and is presumed to be the assembly hall used by the contemporary rulers.

On July 16th, the Mayor of Kurunegala had demolished the said building for a road development project. He had stated that the Road Development Authority (RDA) had given its approval for the demolition.

The Department of Archaeology then filed a complaint claiming that the building demolished by the Kurunegala Mayor is a 13th-century King’s Court.

This archaeological site has been listed under the provisions of the Antiquities Ordinance No. 9 of 1940.

A five-member committee was then formed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Cultural and Religious Affairs, under the directives of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to look into the incident.

In the meantime, Attorney General Dappula de Livera, on July 23, obtained an order from the Kurunegala Magistrate’s Court to protect and prevent the access to the demolished historic building site pending investigations.

The prevention order was issued against the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Kurunegala, Municipal Councillors, Municipal Commissioner, and Engineer Municipal Council staff and their representatives.