Tensions in Malligapoo Estate after Buddha statue brought to Hindu temple

Tensions have risen in Malligapoo Estate in Walapane after an unidentified group allegedly attempted to install a Buddha statue within the premises of an Amman temple on Friday night, raising concerns among local residents over the occupation of Hindu religious spaces and the erasure of long-standing Tamil religious heritage.

According to residents, a group arrived in a white van and attempted to place a Buddha statue inside the grounds of the Amman temple, where worship has reportedly been conducted for generations.

After learning of the incident, local youth rushed to the site and recorded the developments on their mobile phones. A Buddha statue was reportedly seen inside the white van.

The group, which had also arrived in three-wheelers and other vehicles, allegedly threatened those recording the incident, telling them that they were not afraid and that the residents could “do whatever they wanted.”

Residents subsequently alerted the Ragala Police. Officers who arrived at the scene reportedly stopped the attempt to install the statue, questioned members of the group and instructed them to leave the area.

Residents of the estate say Hindu and guardian-deity worship has been practised at the site for more than a century. They expressed fear that attempts to introduce a new religious presence into an established Hindu worship site could become part of a broader pattern of land occupation, cultural displacement and religious erasure.

The incident has heightened concerns among the local community, who say that the sudden appearance of outsiders attempting to alter the religious character of a long-standing place of worship threatens both their sense of security and their cultural heritage.

Sri Lankan Police have commenced further investigations into the incident according to Virakesari.