The Sri Muthumari Amman temple in Anuradhapura was attacked by men carrying knives and clubs on Monday evening as Tamil devotees celebrated the Hindu festival of Navarathiri.
One devotee, a father of one, Prabu was attacked by the thugs and is currently being treated at hospital for lacerations.
Temple authorities said six men of Sinhala and Muslim identity together with one Catholic Tamil speaker forcibly entered the temple around 5.30pm on October 10th.
The men proceeded to destroy the Karumari Amman statue, followed by the Murugan statue, before descrating all the pooja items.
The attack has left local Tamils in fear of further such incidents. The 520 Tamil families, who were evicted from Thissawewa after the area was declared a holy site, currently reside in Thevanampiya Thissapura.
