Police information revealed that the group that stole the monument well-known as Sandagala, weighing more than 1,000 kilos from the Kundasale Udamaluwa Archaeological Reserve, has been clearly identified, but some police officers are hesitant to arrest them and bring them before the law.
Police information also stated that the people involved in this theft have very close relations with some powerful politicians in the Central Province, but the police’s behaviour in this way is problematic even within a background where there is no influence from those politicians.
This information has been conveyed to the IGP C.D. Wickremaratne as well as Senior DIG in charge of the Central Province Sanjeewa Dharamaratne, by various factions.
The attention of police authorities has been focused on deploying another team of police personnel, if the team of police officers carrying out investigations into this theft, intentionally delay arresting the suspects further, subsequent to looking into the matter and then taking action to take into custody the suspects.
During investigations carried out up to now, it has been revealed that this theft took place on the night of December 14 under the protection of a group of people who arrived at the venue in a Defender. Sandagala had been loaded into a boom truck and even the owner of the Defender vehicle has been identified as of now. It is said that the Defender is registered under the name of a woman. Police internal information said that, this Defender still remains in Kandy.
It is said that it had been used for work of a politician during past elections. There is talk among police personnel that he has intervened politically to appoint an Officer-In-Charge to a Police Station located in the Kandy District. Police information said that this officer has not been caught up in the recently carried out transfers of Police OICs.
It has also been discovered during investigations that several security cameras have recorded how this defender was providing security to the boom truck carrying the stolen Sandagala.
There is talk among police officers that there is a main dealer who distributes the drug ICE to Kandy. It is said that when an underworld drug dealer named Dematagoda Chaminda was incarcerated at Bogambara prison, this individual used to visit the prison often to check his welfare.
During investigations conducted up to now, it has become apparent that the theft of the archaeological monument named Sandagala had been carried out in an organized manner.
The site of this archaeological monument, which was stolen during the night, is said to be the site of the palace of Sri Weera Parakrama Narendrasingha, the last Sinhalese king who ruled the Kundasale Kingdom of Kandy for 32 years from 1707 to 1739 AD. This monument, named Sanadagala which was at the Kundasale Udamaluwa Archaeological Reserve had been about four feet in length and three feet in height.
by Daily News Sri Lanka
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