Vavuniya Nedukeni police have arrested three Tamil men who were making arrangements to restore the recently destructed Athi Lingam consecrated to Lord Siva in Vedukkunaari hill.
The three men, Pusparasa Yuvaraj (24), Yogeswaran Viswaruban (17) and Sivalingam Mathialakan (46) have been arrested on charges of "damaging archeological monuments" at Vedukkunaari hill.
Last week, the Athi Lingam consecrated to Lord Siva was destoyed and discarded in the shrubbery surrounding the temple while many other idols such as the idols of Pillaiyaar, the Mother Goddess Amman, and village deity Bhairavar were stolen from the temple. The vandalism sparked outrage from locals and a mass protest in Vavuniya to condemn the act as similar incidents of Sinhalisation of traditionally Tamil land across the North-East.
Preparations were being made to restore the Athi Lingam tomorrow with the participation of Minister Douglas Devananda and Minister Jeevan Thondaman. However, Sri Lankan police made the arrest after a letter was issued by the archeology department, stating that no work could take place while a court case relating to the incident is ongoing.
