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The walk from Kandy to Colombo demanding the release of Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero was already charged with emotion when a video gave it a sharp political edge. In it, Ven. Thittagalle Anandasiri Thero alleged that a JVP sympathizer had struck a man who was helping the walk with a helmet. With the ruling NPP in the frame and the walk closing in on Colombo, the claim spread quickly. Let’s look at the viral video.
Social Media Posts:
A video circulated on social media showing Ven. Thittagalle Thero approaching the injured man and questioning him about the incident.
Related posts continued to circulate on social media afterwards.
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Explainer:
The “Justice for the Robe: Freedom Pada Yatra” began on 10 October 2026 in front of the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy and was planned to end in Colombo. It demanded that the government immediately release Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, who is serving a sentence of rigorous imprisonment for contempt of court. Monks including Ven. Thittagalle Anandasiri Thero and several Sinhala Buddhist organizations led the walk. On 14 October, the video above spread, claiming that a Malimawa (NPP) member had attacked a man who was helping the walk.
Gnanasara Thero was sent back to prison after the Supreme Court ruled on 10 September 2026 that former President Maithripala Sirisena acted unconstitutionally in granting him a presidential pardon in 2019 (Newsfirst).
Full live stream of the walk on 14 October 2026: YouTube
On 14 October, the walk moved from Nittambuwa to Kadawatha. Comparing the background of the assault video with the route that day shows that the incident took place in front of the Vidiyawatta Devalaya. However, nothing related to the incident appears in the live stream.
Ven. Thittagalle Thero’s video shows a lorry that he identified as the vehicle the injured man arrived in, with blood visible on its steering wheel. This suggests the man was inside the lorry when he was attacked and was not walking with the procession. The police statements below confirm this.
Sri Lanka Police Say the Assault Was a Private Dispute
Sri Lanka Police issued a statement on the video. According to police investigations, the assault took place on 14 October 2026 near the Vidiyawatta Devalaya in the Weeragula Police area. The injured man was admitted to the Wathupitiwala Base Hospital for treatment.
According to the statement, Weeragula Police recorded a statement directly from the injured man in hospital. He said a traffic jam on the road near the devalaya led to an argument between him and another man on the road, and that the other man struck him with a helmet when the argument escalated.
The injured man told police that he was not connected to the walk demanding Gnanasara Thero’s release and had not come to support it.
Sri Lanka Police therefore announced that a helmet attack arising from a private dispute over a traffic jam had been given a political colour and linked to Gnanasara Thero’s walk by Ven. Thittagalle Anandasiri Thero in a false campaign on social media. Police also said they would report the facts to court, Newswire reported.
Ven. Thittagalle Anandasiri Thero Says He Initially Believed the Man Was a Walk Supporter
Commenting on the incident on 15 October 2026, Ven. Thittagalle Anandasiri Thero said Sri Lanka Police had accused him of spreading false information, but that at the time he genuinely believed the injured man had come to support the walk.
He said they wiped away the injured man’s blood, arranged for him to be taken to hospital, and noted the number of the motorcycle involved in the attack. He also alleged that although police officers were present when the incident happened, they did not stop the attack or arrest those involved.
He added that he believed no action would have been taken to arrest the attackers if the incident had not been shared on social media.
Journalists Say the Clash Was Between a Lorry Occupant and a Motorcyclist
We spoke to journalists who covered the walk. They said the assault took place in front of the Vidiyawatta Devalaya, near Anura Vidyalaya, between a man in a lorry and a man on a motorcycle. They said Ven. Thittagalle Thero pointed to the injured lorry occupant and introduced him as a walk participant, and that the man said nothing at that moment to confirm or deny it.
However, the journalists said that when police questioned him later, he stated that he was not part of the walk.
Weeragula OIC Confirms the Injured Man Was Not Part of the Walk
We contacted the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Weeragula Police, where the incident was reported. He said the injured man had confirmed that he was not part of the walk.
He added that both the injured man and the attacker were in hospital at the time, and that police expected to report the facts to court. He said the court process would begin once both men were discharged.
We tried to contact Ven. Thittagalle Anandasiri Thero for further clarification but were unable to reach him. We will update this article if we are able to speak to him.
The Walk Reached Colombo and Began a Protest Near the Presidential Secretariat
The “Justice for the Robe: Freedom Pada Yatra” demanding the release of Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero reached Colombo on the evening of 15 October 2026, its sixth and final day.
The monks who arrived in Colombo sat on the road near the Presidential Secretariat and began a protest demanding Gnanasara Thero’s release. The protesters said the Secretary to the President met them and said their request would be discussed with the President, and that they were told about a month would be needed for this. News reports said the President’s Chief of Staff told them no fixed timeframe could be given, and the talks ended without agreement. When the protesters later tried to put up a tent on the road, police intervened and it was moved to the side of the road, reports said.
Latest Updates (as of the morning of 16 October 2026)
The monks spent the night of 15 October near the Presidential Secretariat and continued their protest, reports said. They vowed not to leave until Gnanasara Thero was released.
Further Updates (as of 18 October 2026)
On the morning of 16 October, Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena ordered Ven. Ulapane Sumangala Thero and 54 others to stay out of the Presidential Secretariat premises. The monks took down their temporary shelters and left the area, Newswire reported.
Four representatives of the protesters then held talks at the Ministry of Buddhasasana, but no agreement was reported. The group moved to Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo, where it continued a satyagraha and said it would stay until there was a clear decision on Gnanasara Thero’s release (Newswire).
Ven. Balangoda Kassapa Thero, one of the protest leaders, was admitted to hospital on 17 October (Daily Mirror). He returned to satyagraha on 18 October and said the protesters wanted Gnanasara Thero released unconditionally (Newswire).
As this is an ongoing situation, we will update this article as new information emerges.
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Conclusion:
Ven. Thittagalle Anandasiri Thero’s claim that a JVP sympathizer attacked a man helping the walk for Gnanasara Thero’s release with a helmet is misleading, according to the Sri Lanka Police statement and the Weeragula OIC.
Police said the 14 October incident near the Vidiyawatta Devalaya was a private dispute between a lorry occupant and a motorcyclist, sparked by a traffic jam, and that the injured man had no link to the walk. Journalists who covered the walk gave the same account. The Thero later said he had assumed at the time that the man was a walk supporter.
