Five arrested over theft of Lester’s Golden Peacock medal
May 7, 2018 08:04 am
Five suspects have been arrested by Bambalapitiya Police in connection with the theft of the Golden Peacock medal belonging to the late Dr Lester James Peiris during his funeral, the Police Spokesman said.
The medal which was received along with the ‘Golden Peacock Award’ won by the legendary filmmaker in 1965, was reported missing from his residence on May 2 during funeral activities.
However, it was subsequently found on Saturday (5) on an overhead rack of a Kollupitiya-Kaduwela (177 route) luxury private bus while investigations were launched to arrest the suspects involved.
Dr. Lester James Peiris had received the medal when “Gamperaliya” ( Village Upheaval ) won the Golden Peacock Award for best feature film at the third New Delhi film festival in 1965. This was the first time a Sinhala film had won an international award.
