DIG’s Wife in Temple Treasure Drama

It’s the kind of story that makes both police canteens and village tea kiosks buzz — a police bigwig’s wife, a sacred temple site, and a gang of amateur fortune hunters caught red-handed in the dirt.

According to police in Anuradhapura, the drama unfolded on the quiet temple grounds of Raththarange Devalaya in Shravasthipura, Thibirikadawala. The scene? Not monks chanting or pilgrims praying — but a motley crew of eight men and women, sweating under the midday sun, hacking away at a rock cave in search of… treasure.

The suspects, aged between 35 and 58, came from far and wide — Badulla, Maligathenna, Padavi-Sripura, Giradurukotte, Warakapola, and Anuradhapura itself. But the real eyebrow-raiser was one woman in the group — the wife of a Deputy Inspector General of Police stationed in Colombo. Yes, Colombo. The city where the law is supposed to be enforced, not… creatively sidestepped.

Sources say police moved in after a tip-off that the group was on-site with “serious digging intentions.” When officers arrived, the scene was straight out of a B-grade adventure movie — mammoties, crowbars, iron rods, and a half-dug hole that someone clearly hoped would lead to gold, gems, or some ancient royal stash.

Instead, it led straight to the Anuradhapura Police Station.

By evening, the whole group was produced before court and promptly remanded until the 26th. No word yet on whether the DIG in Colombo has commented — but insiders are already whispering about the embarrassment this brings to the force. “This is not the kind of headline the top brass wants to see over their morning tea,” one retired officer quipped.

As the case unfolds, the big questions linger: What were they expecting to find in that cave? Was it a tip from an old folktale, a misread astrological chart, or just greed dressed up as “heritage exploration”? And perhaps most intriguing — how does a senior policeman’s wife end up in the middle of a rural treasure hunt that ends in handcuffs?

One thing’s for sure: in Anuradhapura’s courtrooms and Colombo’s gossip circles, this tale of high society gone low will be making the rounds for weeks to come.