Professor Sunil Ariyaratna accused of treasure hunting

Professor Sunil Ariyaratna accused of treasure hunting

Information is received that Professor Sunil Ariyaratna and the group accompanying him had been to the historic Pilikuththuwa Raja Maha Vihara recently for the purpose of shooting a film and that they have been involved in the treasure hunting incident which is alleged to have taken place at the vihara premises a few

days before that.

An article in a well-known newspaper which ran the caption 'an 8 foot pit has been dug in Pilikuththuwa Raja Maha Vihara cave to plunder a treasure' inferring that the pit dug for the necessity of the film and the pit dug by treasure hunters are both the same. Under such circumstances the Professor and his associates are connected to the matter of treasure hunting.

Professor Sunil Ariyaratna has commented on this incident as follows: "We were engaged in shooting from last 12th to the 20th. But all those activities were carried on in a legal manner. For that purpose we obtained permission from the Department of Archaeology. We even informed the Chief Incumbent of the Pilikuththuwa Raja Maha Vihara. It was under that permission we conducted the shooting. To shoot the film we constructed a temporary hut. We dug a pit to collect earth for it. We admit that. We covered that pit with the same earth we got from it. Today it is not possible even to see that there was a pit there. Using fiber, we managed to create a boulder and a flight of steps of rock. We removed all creations made from fiber and the location where the hut was in a manner that it could not be identified. The Chief Incumbent of Pilikuththuwa Raja Maha Vihara spoke to me over the telephone and told me about the news published on the first page of the newspaper. I was surprised when I heard about that incident.

We carried on shooting at this sacred location during the last few days for my new film. That's true. But we are not involved in this treasure hunting. When reading the contents of this newspaper it seems to convey a feeling of that nature. None of our associates are involved in this incident. Our members also had seen this incident. Photos also were taken at that spot. That incident may have occured some days before this".

After this incident was exposed by the newspaper about the treasure hunting, the Grama Seva Officer of the area had made a complaint to the Malwathuhiripitiya Police about the treasure hunting inferring that the Professor is connected to this treasure hunting.

Information -- Jayatillaka Gannoruwa