• The Monk is a kidney patient, had saved the money for surgery

By Palitha Ariyawansa  

A group of young men had swindled Rs. 600,000 from the bank account of a chief incumbent in a temple in Badulla by stealing the SIM card from the Ven. Thera’s mobile phone. Ven. Thera recounted to the police that he had received a call, ostensibly from the bank, asking for his bank account details under the pretense of a government directive to waive off recently imposed VAT.  

After providing the requested information, a few days later, the group visited the temple, claiming to be from a service provider company and offering to fix a defect in the temple’s phone. Ven. Thera, who had noticed an unusual noise in his phone, allowed them to check it. Under the pretext of making a call to their company, they borrowed his mobile phone and returned it shortly after.  

However, upon trying to make a call later, Ven. Thera discovered the SIM card was missing. By the time he rushed to the bank to suspend his account, Rs. 600,000 had already been withdrawn by the suspects. Ven. Thera, who is a kidney patient, had saved this money for surgery.  

HQI Badulla Police D.M. Ratnayake, under the directives of ASP Buddhika Gunasekara and SSP Wasantha Kandewatta, is conducting investigations into the incident.