A provincial councillor, a gem businessman as well as the father and the brother of the temple's chief incumbent are among those who are arrested, reports add.

Before 1505, this temple was known as the Puwakgahawela Kotugodella Raja Maha Viharaya.

The temple was ransacked during the Portuguese invasion back then and the treasure is said to be located around the stump of the Bo tree cut down by the Portuguese.