A two-day investigation

The chronicle of an investigation that found the two expensive mobile phones from Rathgama that were lost by a tourist couple at Thuparama Temple – 

This is the chronicle of an investigation by the Tourist Police Bureau, Anuradhapura, which has found the two mobile phones worth about 500,000 rupees, within a short period of time, which were lost at the Thuparama Temple by an Australian couple, who were in a visit to Sri Lanka for a tour.

The couple had visited the Thuparama Temple in Anuradhapura on the morning of 18.12.2024, and while on the way to visit Asgiriya, they have realized that the two phones were missing and lodged a complaint with the Anuradhapura Police Station.

The OIC of the said bureau, Inspector of Police Mr. A.W.M. Suresh Santhaka Athapaththu, who has started the investigation from the place where the phones were last seen, that is where the shoes were kept, and has contacted the monk in charge of the temple, who is currently living overseas by phone. Then he has examined the CCTV footage, and has identified the foreign couple, who had forgotten the two phones that were placed on the side wall near the place where the shoes are kept, and an unknown woman and a man who took the two phones and boarded a bus.

The license plate number of the bus was identified with great difficulty through the CCTV footage and the owner of the bus was contacted through the Department of Motor Traffic and it was revealed that the bus had been travelling from Galle to Jaffna on the said date with a group of pilgrims on a pilgrimage.

Accordingly, the head pilgrim of the group was contacted and the female and the male persons who had taken the two phones were brought to the Rathgama Police Station and taken into police custody on 21.12.2024.

During an awareness programme for hotel owners held on 21.12.2024 under the patronage of the Senior Superintendent of Police in charge of the Anuradhapura Division, Mr. Thilina Hewapathirana, Inspector of Police A.W.M. Suresh Santhaka Atapattu took steps to properly hand over the two relevant phones to the foreign couple. Moreover, the foreign couple, who was informed about the investigation that could locate their phones within a short period of about two days, had appreciated the commitment of the Sri Lanka Police.