An Anuradhapura magistrate has ordered wildlife officers to file charges against the chief custodian priest of the main terrace of the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi over the alleged possession of protected wildlife and animal products.
Additional Magistrate Dasuni Hapuarachchi made the order on Monday, directing the Range Forest Officer of the Ritigala Wildlife Office to bring the charges before court, the Daily Mirror reported on Tuesday afternoon.
What the department says was found
The Wildlife Conservation Department said the case relates to an incident in which the suspect was allegedly found in possession of:
| Item | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Sambar deer meat | not stated |
| Pangolin meat | not stated |
| Mouse-deer meat | not stated |
| Turtle meat | not stated |
| Turtle eggs | 14 |
| Live turtles | 6 |
| Ornament made from pieces of elephant tusk | 1 |
The suspect had been remanded earlier in connection with the incident and has since been released on bail.
Why the inventory matters
The list is unusual in range rather than in volume. It spans a terrestrial game species, a pangolin, a mouse-deer, marine turtles both as meat and alive, turtle eggs, and worked elephant ivory — material that in Sri Lanka is drawn from several different protection regimes rather than one.
The office named is also worth noting. A Range Forest Officer is a Forest Department rank, while the Ritigala Wildlife Office sits with the Department of Wildlife Conservation; the filing attaches the former title to the latter office without explaining the arrangement. Ritigala, a strict natural reserve, lies in the Anuradhapura district within reach of the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, and this desk has previously reported an arrest over the destruction of a bee colony there.
The Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi is among the most venerated sites in the Buddhist world. The post at issue is the custodianship of its main terrace, which is a distinct office from the Atamasthanadhipathi, the chief incumbent of Anuradhapura’s eight sacred places.
Not reported
The filing does not name the priest, and this report does not identify him. It gives no date for the original incident, no location for the alleged possession, and no indication of how the items were discovered or by whom. It does not state which statute the charges will be brought under, what the specific counts are, when the suspect was remanded or for how long, the terms of bail, or the next date in court.
Nor does any filing say whether the Atamasthana administration or the Malwathu Chapter — which holds ecclesiastical authority over the site — has taken any step in response, or whether the custodianship itself is affected.
Sourcing
This is a single-source report and appears to be a Daily Mirror exclusive. The filing is bylined to Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama and carries a Colombo dateline of 27 October. Searches across Hiru News, NewsFirst, the Island, Daily FT, Daily News, Colombo Gazette, news.lk and Virakesari returned no account of this hearing; the live Hiru and NewsFirst homepage rails did not carry it either.
One caution for readers who search this story themselves: queries combining the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi with criminal proceedings return a different and unrelated case — the suspension of Ven. Pallegama Hemarathana Thero by the Malwathu Chapter in May 2026 over an alleged offence against a minor, which this desk reported at the time. That matter concerns a different office and different allegations. Nothing in Tuesday’s filing connects the two, and no inference should be drawn between them.