By Roy Denish.
Temple jewelry theft at a Colombo Hindu shrine allegedly saw LKR 26.7 million in sacred gold pawned to fund a priest’s gambling.
A resident priest at the historic Sri Sivasubramaniya Swamy Temple in Slave Island, Colombo, has been accused of stealing sacred gold jewelry worth approximately LKR 26.7 million and pawning the ornaments to fund a gambling habit.
According to the account surrounding the case, the priest had regular access to the temple’s inner sanctum and to keys used to open a secure vault containing gold ornaments reserved for adorning the deities.
Police allegations indicate that the priest removed the jewelry gradually rather than taking the entire collection at once. He then allegedly transported the ornaments to outside lending houses and pawned them for large sums of cash.
Instead of using the money for ordinary personal expenses, the priest is accused of directing the proceeds into gambling. The total amount obtained from the pawned jewelry is estimated at around LKR 26.7 million.
The money was reportedly lost through gambling over time, while the sacred ornaments remained in the possession of pawn brokers.
Missing Jewelry Discovered Ahead of Temple Festival
The alleged theft came to light when temple administrators began preparations for the annual festival.
As caretakers prepared to retrieve the gold ornaments for ceremonial use, they opened the secure storage area and discovered that the jewelry was missing.
The disappearance immediately raised concerns because the ornaments formed part of the temple’s sacred collection and were traditionally used to decorate the deities during important religious ceremonies and processions.
Temple authorities subsequently carried out an internal inquiry. Attention reportedly turned towards the resident priest because he had access to the vault and its keys.
Management then lodged an official complaint with the Slave Island Police, triggering a criminal investigation.
Following the complaint, the Magistrate issued a foreign travel ban against the accused priest amid concerns that he could leave the country.
Police were also directed to locate and arrest him so that he could be produced before court in connection with allegations of criminal breach of trust.
Trustees Use Personal Funds to Recover Sacred Gold
While the police investigation moved forward, temple officials faced another urgent problem.
The stolen ornaments remained with lending houses after being pawned, creating the possibility that the temple could permanently lose valuable objects central to its religious ceremonies.
Two prominent temple trustees, A. M. T. Thananayagam and Thirukumaran Nadesan, subsequently stepped in to recover the jewelry.
According to the supplied account, each trustee contributed approximately LKR 12.4 million from personal funds to settle the amounts owed to the pawn brokers.
Their intervention enabled the temple to redeem the sacred ornaments and return them to its possession.
The case has shocked the temple community because the allegations involve not only a substantial financial loss but also a serious breach of trust by an individual entrusted with access to sacred property.
Although the jewelry has reportedly been recovered, the criminal investigation remains the central issue as authorities pursue the allegations against the priest.
For temple administrators and devotees, however, the recovery of the ornaments has prevented the permanent disappearance of a collection closely connected to the shrine’s religious traditions and annual ceremonies.
