Since anti-government protestors stormed Sri Lanka’s Presidential Palace and Prime Minister’s official residence earlier this month, at least 1,000 artifacts, including those of vintage and antique value, have vanished, according to authorities.
The figures, however, are based on preliminary investigations, and it will be very challenging for police to determine the precise number of items that have vanished because, despite the Presidential Palace being designated as a site of archaeological importance by the Sri Lankan Department of Archaeology, the department does not maintain a record of the antiques and artifacts kept there, according to police sources.
According to the report, special teams have been assembled to launch an investigation.
Both of the two structures, which are situated in Colombo, the nation’s largest city, were besieged and occupied by protesters on July 9 who were outraged by how the government was handling the island nation’s catastrophic economic crisis.
The problem is directly attributed by protesters to the former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family, many of whom served as government ministers before resigning in the face of intense criticism. They also had it in for former prime minister and current president Ranil Wickremesinghe, whom they saw as the Rajapaksas’ proxies and allies.
Rajapaksa resigned on July 13 and fled to the Maldives, making Wickremesinghe the new interim president. The 73-year-old statesman was chosen by parliamentarians to serve as the country’s president on July 20. He named Dinesh Gunawardena as prime minister two days later.
