A complaint has been filed with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption over the reported disappearance of a carpentry machine, reportedly donated by Queen Victoria in 1876 for vocational training at Bogambara Prison.
The Economic Research Center (ERC) claims the machine, valued at nearly Rs. 6 billion by its parent company, has not been accounted for since the prison’s transfer to Pallekele. These claims remain unverified.
The ERC’s survey, conducted following reports of potential irregularities in Sri Lanka’s prison system, alleges that the highly versatile machine, capable of performing a wide range of carpentry tasks, has no official record of its current location or status. Additionally, the ERC reported that significant quantities of Malaysian timber, reportedly used during British colonial rule to construct prison buildings, are no longer present on the upper floors, suggesting possible mismanagement or fraud. These allegations have yet to be substantiated with evidence.
Bogambara Prison, where the machine was originally housed, was located in Kandy and was the second-largest prison in Sri Lanka after Welikada Prison in Colombo. Built in 1876 under British colonial rule on the site of the former Bogambara Wewa, the prison was designed by F. Vine, with its main gate and walls modeled after the Bastille. Covering 5.3 hectares (13 acres), the three-story main building contained 382 cells accommodating up to 408 prisoners, and included an 840 m² prison hospital. The building’s design was said to resemble Queen Victoria’s crown.
The prison held serious offenders and death row inmates, and was one of only two Sri Lankan prisons equipped with gallows capable of executing three people simultaneously. Between 1876 and 1975, 524 executions were recorded, with the last carried out on November 21 and 22, 1975. Bogambara also housed political prisoners such as D. S. Senanayake, the first Prime Minister of Ceylon, and S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, the fourth Prime Minister, during British rule.
The reported absence of the carpentry machine and the missing timber have prompted the ERC to request a thorough investigation by the Commission to verify these claims and determine if further action is warranted. Authorities have not yet provided an official response, and the allegations remain unconfirmed.
