Gold jewellery worth millions of rupees was stolen from the relic chamber of the Hanthana Sandagiri Maha Seya on Saturday, police said, in a burglary at the Buddhist temple complex on the hills south of Kandy.
The suspects fled with the gold ornaments after breaking into the stupa’s relic chamber, according to police. Three special police teams, supported by K9 units, have been deployed to track down the gang, HQI Rasika Sampath Pathirana said.
Officers from the Police Intelligence Unit, the Crimes Division and the Divisional Crime Investigation Unit have also joined the hunt for those responsible. The investigation is being conducted under the supervision of Senior DIG Lalith Pathinayake, DIG Sudath Masinghe and SSP Anuruddha Bandara Hakmana.
The theft of items from a relic chamber — the most sacred part of a dagoba, where venerated relics and offerings are enshrined — is a serious incident for a religious site. Police did not give a value for the stolen jewellery beyond describing it as worth millions of rupees, and no arrests had been reported by the time of writing.
The burglary adds to a run of high-profile thefts of cultural and valuable property this month, after 42 paintings were reported missing from the National Art Gallery in Colombo. In a separate case last week, police recovered about 18 pounds of stolen gold jewellery in the Dikoya area following an arrest in the central hills.
